Write and Perform a Poem: Winners
Congratulations to all participants in the write and perform a poem section. The entries were of such a high standard that we struggled to pick a winner.
WINNER
WRITE AND PERFORM A POEM 8 YEARS & UNDER
Lydia Battula
DISTINCTION
My Friend Is Called Ocean
My friend is called Ocean,
She travels so far,
Ebbing and swirling,
Not concealed in a jar.
My friend is called Ocean,
Liberty blue – so sleek,
Frothy and foamy,
Sometimes rough, mainly meek.
My friend is called Ocean,
She may sound haughty,
But she distributes cheer,
In a way that’s naughty.
My friend is called Ocean,
Enraged, she’s livid,
Sending down danger,
A memory so vivid.
WRITE AND PERFORM A POEM 8 YEARS & UNDER
Polly McKinnon
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Octopuses waving it 8 tentacles
Coral reef fish zigzagging through coral
Elephant seals catching prey
Anemone protect clownfish with their stinging tentacles
Narwhal’s teeth are very very long
This poem is about animals who live in the ocean.
WINNER
WRITE AND PERFORM A POEM 12 YEARS & UNDER
and
BERTULIS AWARD FOR POETRY WINNER
Ismaeel Bahadur
HONOURS
Oceans
Mysterious and deep,
As vast as space and all the universe,
From the bright glistening turquoise shore,
To the dark blue beating waves of its heart,
BA BOOM BA BOOM BA BOOM,
Sweeping down to crash in its peaceful, quiet slumber,
A whole civilisation in our mist waiting to be seen,
Atlantis under the sea,
Asking us why are we destroying their home,
The ocean as strong as a tornado,
Yet vulnerable,
Glistening like diamonds under the sun,
The teardrops of the ocean begging us to stop,
From the muscular whale,
To the delicate, fragile seahorse,
Singing their own siren song,
STOP!
Before things get out of hand,
Let’s save our wonderful ocean,
Whilst we still can.
WRITE AND PERFORM A POEM 12 YEARS & UNDER
Anna-Julia Meniconi
DISTINCTION
The Sea’s Two Sides
When stormy,
white horses race to the shore and collapse on the golden sand,
giant waves slap against cliffs and rocks forcefully.
It is intense.
It is strong.
It is a mad rollercoaster.
It is like it feels angry or upset.
But when calm,
the sea walks up and down the soft grainy shore peacefully,
and its dress flows gracefully.
It is relaxed.
It is beautiful.
It is a silver sheet of water.
It is like it feels happy or sad.
WRITE AND PERFORM A POEM 12 YEARS & UNDER
Jemima Greenald
DISTINCTION
Oceans - a Sonnet
As I observe the ocean in the night
I see a wave rise up, with its fine strength
Destroy the children’s models with the white
Fine froth that meets the shore along the length.
I see that all the waves are calm once more
And all the light shed from the mellow moon
Is but a shadow on the washed-up shore
That casts its light upon the sandy dune.
And then once more a huge wave crashes down
Destroying all the castles in the way
And sweeps away my hope, and starts to drown
The dream of sandy sculptures next midday
And so, retire to chambers. I shall yearn
Until the morrow dawns, and I return.
WRITE AND PERFORM A POEM - OPEN
Kevin Brooke
HONOURS
Taken
One night, the ship left the harbour
and never came back.
In the moonlight,
I watched, as the ocean
collected the ship, its shape,
its men, its cargo, until finally,
the tip of the tallest sail fell
beneath the horizon.
It didn’t seem right,
being taken by the ocean
in the night, for reasons
we will never forgive
or comprehend
The men seemed like good men,
family men, working men
and we mourned their loss,
stood in silence on the shoreline
and waited, waited, for the ocean
to release them
The ocean didn’t respond.
The harbour remained empty
and the souls of the men
remained at sea,
never to return