Rogue Stationery
By Anita Arnold and English Class 8B, 2006
"I’m coming to get you",
Said my pen.
"I’m going to turn you blue."
The stapler bared its fangs
And snapped at me and
The eraser tried to rub me out.
"Hide in me", said the pencil case,
Grinning hideously, metal teeth glittering
In the light of the desk lamp.
The glue stick tried to
Paste me down
And the compass took aim at me!
Eek! The scissors chased me
Around the room,
Intent on mayhem.
Next week I’m buying a computer
And hiring a secretary to deal with
All of this!
This Land
By Anita Arnold
This land-
Barren, fierce, dangerous!
Blazing sun, crashing sea;
A rock, pulsating red
At the centre of
A dead heart –
My land!
This land-
Cool, soft, deadly!
Silent forests, bellbirds’ calls;
Epiphytes embracing trees,
Funnel-web spiders waiting
At the centre of a living mind-
Your land!
This land-
Busy, frantic, defiant!
Blaring horns, frenetic movement;
Humans striving, despairing, surviving
At the centre of a throbbing wave of life-
Our land!