I woke up and I was in the painting
By Blaize, Year 6
I woke up and I was in the painting, ‘Two Mothers for the Moon’ by Rusty Peters. I’m walking down a long, deserted road to go for a swim in the lake. It is daytime, but it soon changes to night. The sky is filled with trillions of stars. Some stars form shapes that look like turtles surrounded by fish.
There is a story that says a beautiful rainbow turtle lives in the lake. Beneath the surface of the lake, at the very bottom, lies an amazing coral reef. Clownfish dart around, jellyfish bob gently and a large stingray glides by, its skin shimmering in light blue. I’m amazed to see a rainbow underwater, with gold gleaming on its arc. The sand around the lake glows softly, like the light of the moon.
As I watch, the fire coral begins to move. A kind lemon shark swims up to me, seeking help for a poor pink turtle tangled in rubbish. The turtle cries in pain. I carefully remove the rubbish, give it medicine, and wrap bandages around its injuries to help it heal. Then, I feed the sick turtle some lettuce to help it regain strength.
Afterward, I swim out of the lake and dry myself off. Feeling hungry, I head to a line of trees; where rare, glowing rainbow apples grow. I shake the tree and the apples fall, chattering with each other as if sharing funny jokes. I eat the apples, and they are so delicious that I feel like diving back into the lake for another swim.
Instead, I lie on the rocks, gazing up at the stunning night sky. The stars shine brightly, forming pictures in the darkness. I sigh and think to myself, Ahh… this feels so relaxing. Watching the stars shine and create pictures in the sky is so beautiful! I hope daytime never comes back.
I woke up and I was in the painting, ‘Two Mothers for the Moon’ by Rusty Peter, by Blaize is an excerpt from Deadly Writing. Deadly Writing explores significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Each week, students explore a range of texts crafted by First Nations artists and use them as inspiration for their own writing. They learn about Indigenous cultures and languages from diverse communities around Australia, and explore their own experiences and values as they write a series of short pieces of writing, producing a personal anthology. Students learn about and experiment with a variety of editing strategies as they prepare their own writing for publication. Deadly, unna?