The annual Year 9 poetry competition did not disappoint, with a number of pupils writing quite outstanding – and often moving – verse. The poems, published in an anthology, were produced over the course of the summer term.
Ten of the poems were shortlisted for the Poetry Prize, which was, once again, judged by writer and performance poet Francesca Beard. Three students rose to the top, as follows:
- Gold Award – for The Nightingale
- Silver Award – for Mother Nature
- Bronze Award – for Shadow
The Nightingale
The nightingale is not much to look at.
She carries no shimmer,
No jewelled neck,
No firelight edge to her wing.
No hush falls across the grass.
It could be mistaken for a shadow,
A fold of dusk among branches.
The wind does not pause for her.
Even the moon keeps moving.
But when the nightingale sings,
The air tightens,
The sky listens,
It isn’t a melody
But something older, more impressive.
A sound too silver for a seam,
Like the first feelings ever felt,
Were still echoing through her throat.
She sings, and the world stops.
Beauty, it turns out,
Has nothing to do with being seen.
