Found Poetry

Found poems take existing texts, reorder and rehash them, into a poem- sometimes keeping the context and meaning, but often completely changing it.

First, our writers went on a treasure hunt, looking for fabulous words from within the text they were given. Then, like an artist creating a collage, they played with the words, switching the order several times, until they were happy with what the ended up with. Sometimes the results were surprising!

Here are some of Mrs Koster's favourites:



From Team Awa Nui

FOUND POEMS using a page from Margaret Mahy's 'Tale of a Tail'

Magical tiger
powers slipped
unexpected wishes
   - by Emilia K


From Team Roto

FOUND POEMS using a page from Margaret Mahy's 'Tale of a Tail'

Wondering Flower - by Edwin

wondering
wishing flower
magical drinking
exploded blossoming
frightening trees
wild hanging


Emptiness - by Tristan

Careless wishing
suggested muttering
a street quiet
completely empty
green happiness
unwanted


Charging Charge - by Tristan

Gang!
Mouse mumbled charging!
Scratch!
Kick!
Whirl!
Screaming gansters!
Squash.


Remembering Happiness - by Hamish L

Quiet
completely empty
flapping branches
careless wishing
strange happiness


Wild Day - by Manaal

wildly wondering
exploded day
astonished nod
suddenly scared
wishing alone
up and away


Towards the Clouds - by Ryan S

mysterious yowling, wind blew
shivering bare branches, blue skies
clouds apart, rising above
winking trees, towards the clouds

Flying Alone - by Ryan S

backwards, forwards
charging wildly
flying backwards
leaping forwards
bigger and stronger


Flowering - by Hannah M

delicate flowers
blossoming trees
wonderful plums
spring-time wild


Wild Flowers - by Shona

magical, flowering
astonishing
remarkable, blossoming
wondering wild
shining blossom
exploded


Spring Time - by Xanthe Moore

wondering flowers
drinking spring time
flowering blossom trees
single garden
twigs wide open
delicate flowers appear
astonished neighbour stared


My Street - by Hannah LM

Sun Shower
Whizzing around
Bumbling houses
Green pine trees
Mum yowling


Wishing Leaves - by Lucy C

green pine trees
sunny day
raining next
leaves whizzing
around
   wish on a leaf


Tigering a Cat - by Sophia T

Red blossoming plum
painted gardens
quiet orange and red sunshine
blossoms swirling and swirling


Found Poem - by Josh T

Suddenly appeared wild
blossom
shining around red roof
old house hide
wishing tree wish
distance leap
around blossom tree


Found Poem - by Josh CP

believe
imagine
strange happenings
wish secret blossom
spiked winking
spring plum powers


Strange Happiness - by Kimberly

strange happiness dancing over
remembering bumbling buses
garden gap
careless wishing
dancing on the lawn
hovered dark
empty

Highly Commended Poetry

These poems were among the 12 entries selected by Mrs Koster to make up our school entry for the Fourth Fabulous Poetry Competition. Russley School's entry was judged highly commended by the NZ Book Council judge, Catriona Ferguson. Congratulations to all our talented writers!

CHANDELIER SKY

Stars are shiny rings

glowing like a chandelier

White like marshmallows toasting

on the bonfire

They are like golden sand

on the Sunshine Coast

Sparkling pearls in a glimmering

ebony sea

by Olivia C, Year 8

LIVING STAR

Star is a shiny unicorn eye

clear crystal

silver coin

blinking baby

Star falls

like a baby bird

that’s learning

how to fly

- by Hao Yu G. - year 8

LASER STARS

Stars are like white pale faces

reflecting off glass

Stars are like rockets

scraping through the galaxy

Glimmering diamonds gleaming

off the roof like lasers

Worms glowing like

old lightbulbs

Small ants snacking

on the ground

Red devil lights

coming towards me

- by Mitchell F. year 8

The Night Sky

the stars glisten like lake tekapo

with the sun on it

the stars are shiny like black ice

white, like paper from the bible

stars shoot through the sky

like rockets

by Alex C. (year 6)

STARS

Silver sardines swimming

in melted ice

Sparkly dresses

in the disco light

Twinkling rubies

pure as gold

in a dark, dark mine

by Kim S. Year 6

SHIMMERY DOTS

Gold-teeth stars

shimmer like shells

at night they start waving

like hands

when midnight strikes

the stars look like tiny glow worms

Their fading song

flurries through the air

stars spreading like jam

by Maddie H, Year 3

Congratulations also to the following writers from Team Roto:

Josh T,

Josh C,

Sophia T,

Kimberly C,

and Fergus HB.

I can't publish their poems just yet, as they are going to be entered into another competition; our Russley Writers' Walk - as they fit with our theme of FAMILY.

Moon Poetry - Junior

This Moon

        by Flynn P (year 3)

The moon is a round ball

and it is very fast.

The moon is very slippery

like snowflakes.

The moon is humungous

like a tower.

The moon moves like a car,

a speedy sprint-car at a speedway.

       

Shining Bright Moon

        by Cooper (year 3)

the moon is a white plastic plate

the moon is happy

the moon is a face

the moon is white and black

it is a magpie

it is a floating submarine

the moon is big

like a water tower

and the moon is shining

       

My Moon

        by Josh C (year 4)

My moon is a big round ball

in a dark sky.

My moon is the colour of metal.

My moon is always moving slowly.

My moon has craters

like cheese with holes in it.

       

The Shadow

        by Josh T. (year 4)

The moon is a sad face

shining light down to us

The moon is a yellow banana

It is a rugby ball

flying through the stadium

The moon spins really fast

The moon shining silver shadows

on  the world

The Amazing Moon

        by Fergus (year 3)

the moon is a ginormous rock

in space

on the moon

you can jump high like a kangaroo

the moon is a circle

the moon is grey and white

the moon is a soccer ball

the moon is a bit of a sweet apple lolly

the moon  

it is floating in the sky

the moon is a bubble in space

The Shining Moon

        by Kimberly (year 4)

The moon is a mango.

The moon is a banana.

The moon is a shining crystal.

Oh, the moon is so beautiful

and it lights up the sky like a lamp.

The moon is a yellow highlighter.

Oh, without the moon

I don’t know what I would do.

The Full Moon

        by Sophia T (year 3)

The full moon is a ball

and it has big fat lines

and it is black.

It is a G.P.S.

It shows us the way.

The Beautiful Moon Lamp

        by Charlize (year 3)

The moon is a chandelier

that lights up the sky

it is a green banana

grey moon

grey chains

it is a purple balloon

the moon is a lazy cow

Albatross Moon

          by Sophia M (year 3)

The moon is a big albatross

on the lookout.

The moon is

red as blood.

The moon sets

the sky on fire.

The Awesome Moon

        by Ryan (year 3)

The moon is a staring eye

The moon is a soccer ball

The moon is an old black and white photograph

The moon can light the whole world

The Iain Sharp Poem

If you were a parcel, what sort of parcel would you be? What kind of paper would you be wrapped in? Would you be tied with string, or ribbon, or tape? Would you fit through a mail slot? Perhaps you'd be a letter? What kind and in what envelope?

Iain Sharp is a poet who lives in Auckland. He wrote a really cool poem called The Iain Sharp Poem. He gives us a picture of himself through descriptions of things and actions. 

We each had a go at writing our own 'Iain Sharp' poem, using our own name. 

Here is a selection of the best of them from Team Awa Nui (Year 5 & 6) and Team Roto (Year 3 & 4).

Team Awa Nui

The Ollie Morris poem

I am a bright blue envelope with a yellow ribbon

I am a toy monkey waiting for a friend on the sheets

I am the sand running down the beach

I am a plane being flown into the cloudy sky

I am a fish swimming through the waves

I am a blade of grass on a rugby field
When I look in the mirror I see an army sergeant.

                                                                         

The Alex Law Poem

I am a package

and I'm the colour gold 

I am a honey-badger gun

in a middle of a war zone

I am a BMX track

with people jumping my jumps

(or trying to)

I am a Suzuki MX bike

in a super cross stadium

a jump away from victory

I am a mutt in a house

with my family

with everything I've wanted

I am a WWE super star

in the middle of the ring

doing my signature

When I look the mirror

I see

a famous BMX rider.

                                                                         

The Kim Schonert Poem

I am a big birthday card and parcel
with fairy wrapping paper
waiting to be opened

I am a teddy bear on a lonely shelf
waiting and waiting to be loved
by a family who loves me very much

I am a big green forest

full of colourful birds and animals

with crocodile’s and alligators roaming the habitat

I am a submarine swimming through the big blue

I am a piwakawaka flying through the incredibly big blue sky

I am a rainbow standing like a bridge

When I look in the mirror

I see me shy and scared

being new in class

with children that I don’t know 

  

                                                                         

The Farren Stewart Poem

I am a cocoa coloured box with a golden ribbon  
I am a toy puppy with one ear and a strawberry coloured bow
I am a high snowy mountain, white like a polar bear and shaped like a triangle
I am a jet ski zooming through the high waves with the motor roaring
I am a leopard racing through bushes after a gazelle
I am porridge getting sucked up into a sick wrinkly old lady’s mouth

When I look in the mirror I see brown hair and eyes

I see Farren Stewart

                                                                         

Team Roto (Year 3 & 4).

The Takeru Oki Poem

I am a skinny envelope

with a New Zealand stamp.

I am a race car

my colour is red.

I am faster than a toy plane.

I  can fly.

I am a dolphin

I am faster than a wave.

I am a soft pancake

with butter

and yummy.

I make a sloppy noise.

When I look in the mirror

I see

my beautiful face.

                                                                         

The Sophia Tan Poem

I am a big present

with shimmery paper.

I am a fairy godmother.

I am chicken wings with sticky rice,

and I am crunchy and crackly and crispy.

When I look in the mirror

I see a violinist.

                                                                         

The Sophia McMahon Poem

I am a box

I am rainbow coloured

and glow in the dark

with a gold ribbon.

I am a toy puppy

sitting on the bed.

I am a number 78 bus

travelling to the beach

at high speed.

I am a piece of sushi

with a double layer

with chocolate icing on it.

When I look in the mirror

I see a pop star.

                                                                         

The Josh Collins Poem

I am a parcel, a fancy box

with rings on it.

I am a Captain America soft toy.

I am a monster truck in big air.

I am a chimpanzee in a fight.

I am a bubbly bowl of rice bubbles.

I am a speed machine breaking the law.

I am a cliff being climbed.

When I look in the mirror,

I see Josh Collins.

                                                                         

The Jack McKay Poem

I am gold.

I fly and I sing ‘I believe I can fly

and touch the sky.’

I am a soccer boot

that kicks balls.

I am a motor bike.

I am a big black spider that bites to poison.

                                                                         

The Flynn Poulter Poem

I am a box

with a few stamps on the top.

I am a robot,

my sound is ‘beep’.

I am a jet boat,

I skid on some water.

I am a gorilla,

I am in New Zealand and I am eating a banana.

I am a bowl of Weet-Bix with sugar.

I am a crane

and I am digging up stuff.

I am a soccer field with people on.

When I look in the mirror

I see myself.

                                                                         

The Fergus Hollis-Barnard Poem

I am a ginormous cardboard box

with stamps.

I am a ginormous rocket ship,

I can fly over 1,000,000,000 kilometres.

I am a dragon with fire.

I am a bowl of crushed Ricies.

I am an electric sewing machine.

I am a crane with a big hook.

I am a sports field,

with a competition on.

When I look in the mirror

I see me.

                                                                         

The Charlize Fowler Poem

I am a rectangular box

of ballet shoes

in blue wrapping paper with a gold bow

with a stamp to New York.

I am a soft mermaid doll

with a rainbow

that glows.

I am a pink balloon 

with a sad face.

I am a duck with orange feet

and I sprint out of the water.

When I look in the mirror

I see a princess. 

                                                                        

The Cole Sutton Poem

I am a square box

I have gold wrapping paper

and a yellow tie

with a Russian stamp in the corner.

I am a sort of cat

I have black spots

and goldish-yellow fur.

I am soft and furry and I have got

cute eyes.

I am a leopard.

I am a big piece of meat.

My noise is squish,

munch,

crunch,

and at the end there is a Big

BURP.

When I look in the mirror

I see an astronaut.

                                                                         

The Kimberly Curry Poem

I am a sparkly fat purple parcel.
I have lollies that glow inside me
and a shimmery green bow.

I am a scary sparkly Monster High doll.

I am a magic rainbow bus
and I fly with food to schools

and deliver food.

I am a white-tail spider that

hides in a cave.

I am noodles

eaten with chopsticks.

When I look in the mirror

I see a beautiful little girl

looking back at me.

                                                                        

The Ryan Yoon Poem

I am a box wrapped with yellow paper

I am an airplane, I can fly

I am a whale, I can swim

I am a gorilla, I am strong

I am a plate of chicken nuggets

I am scissors

I am the earth

When I look in the mirror

I see me

                                                                        

The Josh Thackwell Poem

I am a brown cardboard box

with a few stamps.

I am a Madagascar penguin

flying through the air.

I am a jeep from the war

sitting in a garage.

I am a giraffe from Madagascar.

I love leaves.

When I look in the mirror

I see a future accountant.

                                                                         

The Cooper McMillan Poem

I am a parcel stuck with tape.

I am a rugby ball going over a post.

I am a STR Subaru.

I am a tiger eating animals,

I leap up and get them.

I am a sink full of mud.

I am a sports field.

When I look in the mirror,

I see an All Black standing there.