Week 12, 2009

MERRI CREEK

by Meredith Costain

Riding along, with Molly and Jack

Down to the creek on the bicycle track

Birds in the air

Wind in my hair

Creek full of ripples and ducks that go quack!

Bicycle track

Molly and Jack

Creek full of ripples and ducks that go quack!

Off to the creek with a snack in my pack

Wheels whizzing round with a clickity-clack

Kites in the breeze

Magpies in trees

Dogs running free and the sun on my back.

Clickity-clack

Snack in my pack

Dogs running free and the sun on my back.

Riding back home on the bicycle track

Hungry for dinner with Molly and Jack

Bike in the shed

Jump into bed

To dream of tomorrow when we can go back!

Birds in the air

Wind in my hair

Kites in the breeze

Magpies in trees

Bike in the shed

Jump into bed

To dream of tomorrow when we can go back!

Meredith says: When I was young, I rode my bike to school along the banks of a river. The steady rhythm of the wheels going round helped to bring words and images into my head, and I wrote my first poems this way. For this poem, I wanted to try to reproduce that mesmerising rhythm. These days, I ride along the banks of the Merri Creek in inner-city Melbourne with the dogs from the poem – Molly and Jack. And the turning wheels definitely helped to bring the lines and images I needed. You should try it some time!

Meredith has been writing doggerel – and catterel! – since she was six. Her poems have appeared in various publications but she is best known for her book of action verse for the very young, Doodledum Dancing (Penguin, 2007), where this poem is from. Her other books include several titles in the Aussie Nibbles series, Musical Harriet, No Noise at Our House and My Baby Love. Visit her at http://www.meredithcostain.com/

Write your own poem: What is something you know about that has a rhythm of its own? Someone playing drums? The train going past? Your mum tapping her fingernails on the table? A friend bouncing a ball? Write a poem about the action, but try to write it in a way that gives us the rhythm as well. You don't need to use rhyme - repetition works just as well - but if you want to rhyme, have a go!