Welcome to Litsy!

Spiders
I‘m not afraid of spiders.
Spiders are scared of me.
I run away
so they won‘t have to
run away from me.
-Feana Tu‘akoi

(This photo was one of my most-liked on Facebook, so I had to find a poem to go with it.)

The cat of habit
knows the place by heart
or at least by space, scent, direction, bulk,
by shadow and light
moonlight starlight sunlight
and where to nest in each
with a three-focussed shut eye
on who or what‘s coming and going
on the earth and in the sky
and distantly, not present, the rays of inkling
shining within the furred skull.
-Janet Frame

If you feel blue, get on your ski-doo
And swiffle your way through the snow.
Ski-dare to be bold, even though it is cold!
Ski-don‘t let it lay you low!
Ski-daddle along, singing a song,
Ski-do what has to be done!
Your heart will ski-dance at each fabulous chance,
And ski-dart with delight at the fun.
-Margaret Mahy

Over 250 poems for all ages, written by #NZauthors. Some are old, some new. Some are by well-known writers—Dinah Hawken, Katherine Mansfield, Gavin Bishop, Janet Frame, Hone Tuwhare, etc—and some by children. The print is large enough to make it easy for emerging readers and great-aunties with failing eyesight. Jenny Cooper‘s cheerful & whimsical artwork unites everything into a gorgeous volume that can be enjoyed for years.

This poem brings back memories of a previous visit to Auckland, when my friend had moved jars of swan plant branches into her kitchen to keep the monarch butterfly caterpillars on them safe from predatory wasps. It was wonderful to be able to watch each insect go through all their changes, including crawling out of their chrysalis with soft wet wings.

Final morning in New Zealand:
-finish this fat volume of children‘s poetry that belongs to my host.
-enjoy one last perfectly-ripe papaya.
-find room for a dozen books in my luggage without going over the weight limit.

Clocks
are very clever things
with numbers
pendulums
and springs.
Wound up
they quietly tick away,
unnoticed,
all throughout the day
but
if you wake,
curled warm
and tight
during the long dark
of the night,
it‘s strange
that even
little clocks
can fill the house
with loud
TICK
TOCKS.
-Peggy Dunstan

#nzauthor
#poetrychallenge2018

Further Adventures of Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty, King of the Eggs,
Ran down the road on his little short legs.
After him, quickly, came 42 cooks
Who lived in a castle of cookery books,
Charging and barging the length of the street,
Holding their egg beaters ready to beat,
Shouting out ‘Omelettes!‘ and ‘Scrambled!‘ as well.
What a terrible shock for a king in a shell!
-Margaret Mahy

#nzauthor
#poetrychallenge2018

Whisper to me while the spider spins,
sing me a song of seagulls‘ wings,
tell me the story of sky and hill,
put me to sleep in a paua shell.
-Patricia Grace
#indigenous
#nzauthor
#poetrychallenge2018

Who Am I?

green leaf
on a tree
flutter, fly
up high
spy make-up
eye wake-up
quick flick
clever trick
circus clown
upside down
twig-clinging
squeaky-singing
often heard
tiny bird
oh my
silver-eye

-Claire Gummer
#nzauthor (also my dear friend 😊)
#poetrychallenge2018
Photo by Max McRae
http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/silvereye

At Night

At night I look up at the sky,
I see the moon and stars sweep by.
I take the universe to bed
and keep it safe inside my head.

-Bill Nagelkerke
#nzauthor
#poetrychallenge2018

A Visit to the Beachside Library

I‘d rather be lost
in a sea of words
than in an ocean of water.

-Bill Nagelkerke

#poetrychallenge2018
#nzauthor

Once a little kiwifruit, just for fun,
took off his jacket and lay in the sun.
‘Be careful, dear,‘ his mother said.
‘Or you‘ll burn a nasty red.
It‘s not wise for kiwifruit
to sunbathe in his birthday suit.‘
BUT…
He lay there on his rug and pillow,
and woke up as a tamarillo.

-Fiona Farrell
#poetrychallenge2018
#NZauthor