Ghost Writing

Congratulations to Morgan, who won a copy of Bill Nagelkerke's book, The Ghost House. Morgan's ghostly poem was published on Poetry Box. Awesome stuff!

 

Ghost Poems

Some of our Russley Writers took up Paula Green's  48 hour pop-up poetry challenge. They quickly crafted their ghostly poems, which Paula said were full of terrific atmosphere and wonderful similes.

Congratulations to these awesome writers who have had their ghost poems picked by Paula to be published on Poetry Box: Morgan C, Frida, Chloe P and James Q.

Paula is sending a copy of Bill Nagelkerke's book The Ghost House to Morgan. Wahoo! (Or should that be... BOO!) 

You can read the poems here and check them out on Poetry Box too.

The Ghost of Mystery

Wind flies past my cheek like a storm on a cool night

as the smell of freshly cut firewood suddenly disappears

Popping out of corners, dark chocolate eyes stare down at me

a layer of snow glides across the room

like a kite being pushed in the wind

Flick, flick! goes the light

then, Whoosh!

Whoosh!

he’s gone

by Morgan C (age 12, Year 7)

Ghost?

Opening the door I step outside.

The deck creaks below my feet.

A few trees wave weak hellos.

The Sun just barely peeks over the edge of the land.

Sucking in cool air.

A faint scream gets my attention.

Where is the noise coming from?

Nobody is out here.

Or was it inside?

No it couldn’t have been them,

they were blasting the music way too loud.

The scream gets louder then suddenly stops.

That scream was way too familiar.

A white as snow figure fills my vision.

A Ghost?

by Frida H-B (age 12)

The Phantom GHOST

Floor boards creak

in the distance

the smell of an old abandoned house

lingers

Cold air blasts

Rats scurry past old dusty floors

Cries echo through

the old abandoned house

the ghastly shadow

of a ghost

disappears out of sight

pure white eyeballs

stare at me

in the distance

by Chloe P (age 11, Year 7)

PAPER GHOST

White as clouds the ghost

glides slowly like a pelican hunting for fish.

3:00 my alarm rings

I hear…

the back door creak open

the ghost wails like a kettle being boiled

it slowly drifts through the door,

closing it silently

I hop into bed falling back asleep.

by James Q (Year 7)

Poems picked by Paula for Poetry Box!

Our October challenge was to write a poem on the theme of 'WONDER'.

Some of our writers composed poems expressing their 'wonder' at the world around them. Some wrote 'list poems', with a list of things, places and people they think are wonderful. Some wrote questioning, wondering, puzzling poems. Some were odes to a particular place or activity. 

Paula chose some of her favourites to publish on Poetry Box. Here they are:

Wonderful Things 

Loud waves crashing
against the shore
Dark black dog fur
covers the couch head to toe
Cold ice tea, swishes
around in my glass
Sweet smell of pelargoniums
just a few feet away  
As I walk along the sand
it gets stuck in between my toes

Adrianna P, Age 13, Y8, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School  

The Most Wonderful Things

The taste of nana’s cheese scones melting on my tongue
Grandma’s cookies
The love from a miniature schnauzer bringing joy to my day
The way the glistening snow tickles my palms
The tickle of shallow waves hugging my ankles
The smell of grandma’s delightful roses in her garden
Heavy rain hitting my roof as I drift off to sleep
The heat of hot popcorn on a movie night

Morgan C, Age:12, Y7, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Going to the Beach

I watch the glittering waves
crashing on the beach
with Granny

I carefully lift the bucket off
the delicate sandcastle

I place some clam shells
and a little red flag
at the top

Maia S, age 7, Year 3, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Wonder List

The smell of freshly cut grass
Booming thunder in the dark night

Mouth watering, chicken rice ball
with fresh avocado laid out on the table
Bacon crackling in the oily pan

The scent of pure white lilies dipped
into water standing perfectly

Ruby W, Age: 11, Y7, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

WONDER

I lie in my bed listening to the crisp rain and thunder
Soothing jazz makes me fall asleep
The scent of my grandma’s fresh cooked salmon
The milo sitting on the counter while the jug boils
The constant thought of a capybara being my pet.
I lie with all of these dreams

James Q, age 11, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Wonder 

The sound of the rev limiter crackling and sparking
the sparkle of shiny chrome
the smell of gasoline

Taylor H, Year 7, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

My List of Wonderful Things

feathery penguins waddling across a vast landscape
unexplored jungles with tangly vines

flying to Africa to see lions and majestic flamingoes
riding a giant eagle across a vast desert

eating an icecream
with 9 scoops of goody goody gumdrops dipped in chocolate

Isabelle H, age 7, Year 3, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Wonderful Cats

Cute, fluffy tips poke out at me
as I gently touch a wet, soft nose\

leaping, frolicking

eyes shining a warm welcome
this amazing kitty steals my attention

like a snake she slithers to my
hand playfully

a fluffy paw bats a butterfly
this way and that

Victoria P, age 8yrs, Year 4, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Wonder

My hand sinks into the fluffy soft fur
of a red fox

I lie down on dry grass
filled with flowers

Tulips, marigolds, daisies and
lady’s slippers
fill the air with their sweet scent

rain drops fall from a dark cloudy sky

I squeeze my soft teddy
it feels like cotton candy

Bella Z, age 9yrs, Year 4, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Watching the Moon

Watching the glistening moon
stare blankly
as it slowly rises
lightening the starry sky

I see silvery stars shining brightly
forming pictures and shapes

I feel the cool breeze sweep past me
swirling around

Slowly I fall
asleep

Angela Z, age 7, Year 3, Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School

Inspired by Nature

 Ginko:  a Japanese word meaning a walk taken with the purpose of writing a haiku poem

Our walk around the Russley School grounds was great inspiration for some nature-themed poetry. We decided to write free-verse poems as an artistic expression of our response to our environment. We love free-verse poetry, as it gives us permission to break all the rules. We can choose the words, sounds, shape and form we want to convey our thoughts to the reader. We are not confined to following a particular pattern, syllable or word count or number of lines. We can make it up as we go along. We don't even have to use full stops or capital letters. Our line breaks and stanzas (verses) help the reader know when to pause and take a breath, like punctuation.

Look for the poetic language we've used to create vivid images; similes and metaphors, strong verbs, specific nouns and senses such as sound.

Nature poem 

 

Pastel yellow of a sunflower 

The freeze of the cold breeze

Roses bloom with joy 

Spiky thorns prick like needles 

Iceberg of fresh air whips my bare legs

Sky high trees sway like wind chimes 

 

Tiny ant runs on the slippery grass 

A nest balances on a thin branch 

I wonder 

why do birds chirp

chirp away?

• By Morgan Campbell | age 9 yrs | year 5

I Wonder Why

 

In front of the library filled with books 

mysteries and adventures

a warning 

COVID-19 poster

the bare oak tree stretches its branches to reach the sky

soft breeze cools me down 

a flock of house sparrows chirp gracefully  

delicate flowers shine in the sun

and I wonder

why the sky 

is such a very bright blue?

• By Mostafa Elnahas | 9 years old | year 5

Scribbles

Wind so shivering cold

I pull down my sleeves

until they cover my hands

The NZ flag flies awkwardly 

grasps the pole like a sail on a boat

A small rock in my shoe

pokes my foot hurting my heel 

A  fabulous fragile yellow nemesia

drops its petals

My red, sharp WARWICK pencil scribbles

adjectives and verbs

• By Esme Stalker/10yrs/year 5

Colouring our World with Poems

Our Russley Writers have been exploring colour. They each created a poem which celebrates a colour of their choosing and entered the Poetry Box Challenge. Author Paula Green congratulated all our students who submitted their writing. She said, 'Your choice of words made colours come alive, your poems were full of movement and zest. I really liked the pictures that grew in my head as I read. I especially liked the way they all flowed so beautifully. So many standout lines and images. Brilliant!'

Paula received hundreds of submissions from schools all over NZ and has chosen some of her favourites to publish on the Poetry Box website. Twelve students from Russley School have had their poems selected. 

Special mention to Beau Twidle, who Paula chose as one of her top three favourites overall! Beau wrote a fabulous poem about black and has received a copy of Paula Green's book, 'Groovy Fish' as a prize. Congratulations Beau, and to the other published poets:

Beau T 

Esme S

Evrin M-T

Morgan C

Madeleine H

Jay P

Akhila S

Joseph S

James DW

Isaac E

Henry P

Oliver P

Here is Beau's poem:

Black

night covering penwood street

ants running across the dirt

a sleuth of bears sleeping

a box of old fashioned telephones

a patrol unit of arrows flying at the target

a bundle of cables, like snakes

by Beau Twidle | Year 5