colour drawing of spiral

Home

Class 5 Main Lessons

Greek Mythology    Birds, Flowers and Insects    Verses

child's painting of autumn tree

 
Classes 1 to 3 (6-9 year olds) Classes 4 to 5 (9 to 11 year olds) Classes 6 to 7 (11 to 13 year olds)
Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7

 

Greek Mythology

Praise-Song to Poseidon


Hail great God of the Oceans,
Of the earth-encompassing seas!
Whose moods and motions and mysteries
We pour the wine to appease.
How great your fury in tempests,
How loud your howl in the gale,
How reckless in power you pound on the shore
The rock-jagged cliffs to assail.
Yet when your heart is at peace,
And all is calm and serene,
How gently you linger and lap on the sands
And sparkle in azure and green.
O mighty in mountainous billows,
Or dimpled and limpid at ease -
Hail great God of the Oceans,
Of the earth-encompassing seas!

Paul King

 
Ode to Apollo


Great and good Apollo,
All-revealing Light!
How manifold your qualities
In nature fair and bright.
 
You glisten, gleam and glow,
Sparkle, shine and shimmer,
Glitter, dazzle, die down dim,
Flicker, flare and flimmer.
 
You’re dazzling in the summer glare,
Dappled in the shade,
Bright in shafts between the trees,
Around the woodland glade.
 
You’re brightest in the radiant sun,
Mysterious in the moon,
And jewelled in the myriad stars
Across the heavens strewn.

Paul King

  

Prayer to Athena


Hail great goddess Athena!
Girt in armour bright :
Arm, guide and protect me
In darkness and in light.
 
Grant me your helmet of wisdom,
Your shield of courage true,
Your spear of truth in counsel,
For all that I shall do.
 
Hail great goddess Athena,
Girt in armour bright :
Arm, guide and protect me
In darkness and in light.

Paul King

 

 

 

The Greek Statue

Upon a mass of marble
The sculptor hammers hard :
The chink and chip of the chisel
Leaves it channelled, grooved and scarred.
   
Then finer, ever finer,
With cut and scrape and shine,
The statue tall is rubbed and smoothed
To a hero’s form sublime.

Paul King

 
    Theseus

Deep into the labyrinth
Of dark and winding ways,
I stepped in silence, sword in hand,
Through a night that knows not days.
 
And there the ravening beast I slew,
The hideous Minotaur,
Half man, half bull, and cruelty all,
Who will trouble men no more.
 
And then the guiding clew I wound,
To lead me back to light.
Ariadne true was waiting there,
And the stars shining bright.

Paul King

 

[back to top]

Birds, Flowers and Insects

Weaverbird
In and out the weaverbird
Weaves his wisps of grass,
Busy and bustling, bent on the task
As the hours quickly pass.
 
Weaving, winding, twining the strands,
Tirelessly working with care,
Till fine and formed, neat and new
Is a nest beyond compare.

Paul King
 

 Sun Bird
With a glint and glitter of colour
The sunbird quivers bright,
Then darts away to another bloom
Like a flickering arrow of light.
 
With a delicate sipping of nectar
And a tumbling shower of song
He’ll hover a moment haloed in dreams,
Then - suddenly - he’s gone.

Paul King

 
Gum Tree

High in the breeze the blue-gum sways,
Whispering, dancing, dappling and bright;
With roots sunk firm in the mountain-side,
Strong, straight trunk carried with pride,
And branches raised to the light.

Paul King

Butterfly and Flower 
See the flower open
Its petals one by one -
Butterfly wings upon a stem
Waving in the sun.
 
See the flitting butterfly
In shimmering colours bright -
A flower free and flying
In the warm summer’s light.

Paul King

   

See the bee
How selflessly
She toils to bring the honey home.
 
The silent hive
She’ll keep alive
When blooms are blown and winter’s come.

Paul King

[back to top]

Verses

By day the light of the radiant Sun,
By night the light of mysterious Moon,
And the wandering Stars ever above,
Guide and guard us night and noon.
Light of the sun shine in my thoughts
Beauty of moon weave in my heart,
Wisdom of stars flow through my deeds.
Morning, evening, night and noon.

  Paul King

 

The pillars of the temple
Stand between earth and sky :
Upon a footing that’s sturdy and  firm
They lift the roof on high.

Paul King

The great and glorious golden sun
Shines from on high on everyone,
On saint and sinner, shepherd and king,
On the great and the stumbling, unstinting.

Paul King

 

See the stone
Sculpted by storm,
Weathered by wind
To a rugged form.
 
See the shell
Whose elegant spin
Spirals and twists
To the heart within.
 
Weather and wind
Or life unfurled:
Inner and outer
Shape the world.

Paul King

 

[back to top]

Classes 1 to 3 (6-9 year olds) Classes 4 to 5 (9 to 11 year olds) Classes 6 to 7 (11 to 13 year olds)
Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7