A beautiful Tūhono display at Cummings Park Library
Exciting times — until December 14th, you can submit your poem for Tūhono 2022, our poetry journal for children and teens in Wellington, Te Whanganui-a-Tara. We’ve already seen some amazing poems come through!
This year, the theme is “Whakangā | Breath.” Whakangā refers to the taking in of breath, or to the process of breathing. It also calls to mind the idea of inhaling from the world; taking a breath to create calm; taking time to stop, slow down, relax, be.
To help give you some inspiration, we thought we would share again with you some of our favourite poems from Tūhono 2020. Read on, and prepare to be blown away!
1. My Butterfly Journey — Ronan, age 5
My Butterfly Journey
I can’t move
I’m in a chrysalis
I will have butterfly powers when I come out
I will go where the butterflies go
I will lay eggs
Then I will die
The caterpillar will do the journey back home
— Ronan, age 5
2. The Verselet Tree — Amelia, age 9
The Verselet Tree
Wise, knowing and smart,
When I sit beneath you I feel safe,
warm and comforted this feeling makes
me want to drift off in a slow and
steady sleep,
but before I do, a thought comes to my
mind,
the thought grows as I sleep,
When I wake the thought has formed
into a poem.
As I wander home,
I think of the poem and decide to write
it down,
And then I will go back and get
another poem from you.
— Amelia, age 9
3. Connection — Jericho, age 11
Connection
I have a connection to music,
as if it’s part of my life,
as it follows the beat of my heart,
over and over again.
It lives deep inside me,
it burns inside my heart,
as an eternal flame,
raging on inside of me.
It shocks my soul,
It runs thru my body,
It harmonises my life,
As if when I listen to it
all fear and pain go away.
Music electrifies my very existence.
— Jericho, age 11
4. Connected — Pemma, age 12
Connected
A thread, a rope,
The invisible link between us all,
Connected by soul,
The whispering call.
Shining stars twinkle above,
Our ancestors watching,
With the eye of the crescent moon.
Nature’s melody,
The sweet birds,
Our link with Papatūānuku
Has always been heard.
A thread, a rope,
A quiet trail,
Linked together, connected.
— Pemma, age 12
5. Little One — Rajvi, age 5
Little One
Go to sleep little one
no need to cry
we will be there for you forever ……
oh my baby
go to sleep little one ….
O ho ho ……
Just go to sleep little one
— Rajvi, age 5 (written on 15/10/20 for her younger brother, born on 11/10/20)
Tūhono on the shelves & the web!
Be sure to check out our poetry collections at your local library branch! You can find Tūhono 2020 & 2021 on the catalogue as physcial books, and as ebooks on Overdrive/Libby.
Tūhono. a journal of poetry by Wellington children / 2021
“Whakaata : reflection. This theme links all of the poems in this second edition of Tūhono, which were contributed by young Wellington poets aged 5-12 and collected by Wellington City Libraries throughout October and November 2021. Poems by writers aged 13-18 are collected in a separate volume. The year 2021 provided us all with plenty of opportunities to reflect. What’s really important? What falls by the wayside when times are tough? What do you see looking back at you when you gain the courage to hold the mirror up to the light? Anxious, loving, hopeful, angry, quirky, imagistic, insular, exuberant – these poems are a kaleidoscope. At one end we put in our certainties and our questions, our need to understand and to express. As for what we see at the other end? Well, you’re reading it. WCL would like to thank Kimi Ora School for generously providing beautiful artworks created by their students to accompany their poems.”–Overdrive catalogue.” (Catalogue)
Tūhono. a journal of poetry by children and teens / 2020
“Tūhono : connection. This is the theme that binds together all 197 poems you are about to read, which were contributed by young Wellington writers aged 5-18 and collected by Wellington City Libraries throughout the month of November 2020. The year 2020 was challenging for many people. Some had to spend time apart from their friends and the people they love. Some had to find ways to live with uncertainty and the sense that everything might not be okay in the world. But taken together, these poems represent a constellation of thoughts, ideas, worries, anxieties, hopes, loves, and dreams about how we find ways to connect, even in the face of adversity.” (Catalogue)
Tūhono: A journal of poetry by Wellington children / 2021 (eBook via Libby/Overdrive)
“Whakaata : reflection. This theme links all of the poems in this second edition of Tūhono, which were contributed by young Wellington poets aged 5-12 and collected by Wellington City Libraries throughout October and November 2021. Poems by writers aged 13-18 are collected in a separate volume.
The year 2021 provided us all with plenty of opportunities to reflect. What’s really important? What falls by the wayside when times are tough? What do you see looking back at you when you gain the courage to hold the mirror up to the light? Anxious, loving, hopeful, angry, quirky, imagistic, insular, exuberant – these poems are a kaleidoscope. At one end we put in our certainties and our questions, our need to understand and to express. As for what we see at the other end? Well, you’re reading it.
WCL would like to thank Kimi Ora School for generously providing beautiful artworks created by their students to accompany their poems.” (Catalogue)
Tūhono. a journal of poetry by children and teens / 2020
“Tūhono : connection. This is the theme that binds together all 197 poems you are about to read, which were contributed by young Wellington writers aged 5-18 and collected by Wellington City Libraries throughout the month of November 2020. The year 2020 was challenging for many people. Some had to spend time apart from their friends and the people they love. Some had to find ways to live with uncertainty and the sense that everything might not be okay in the world. But taken together, these poems represent a constellation of thoughts, ideas, worries, anxieties, hopes, loves, and dreams about how we find ways to connect, even in the face of adversity.” (Catalogue)
Bee Curious: Learn about Bees with Eva the Apiarist – Local apiarist (bee keeper & enthusiast), Eva, is coming to Wadestown library on 
