Prizes for the 2016 Rehoboth Poetry Competition were presented at the International Assembly on Tuesday, 6 September. This competition was very popular, and the entries were many and varied in style, subject matter, and language techniques. The judge (external to the Rehoboth community) was amazed at the maturity and creativity evident in the entries and congratulated our students on their ability to reflect on their experiences and reading – and convey their understandings to their own readers.
Given the popularity of the competition – and the quality of the entries – we will definitely run the competition again in 2017. Students are encouraged to keep their pens poised in preparation!
Below are the winning entries:
Year 7-8 Category
WINNER
Hannah Beaney – “Waiting for the Sunrise”
The beach, lonely and desolate,
Deserted apart from the stray surfer,
Or the gulls scanning the sea.
At the moment, everything is still,
Everything is quiet, too quiet,
Why may you ask?
They are waiting,
Waiting for the sunrise.The sea crashes and rumbles,
Stirs and sallows,
But alas, its beauty is lost,
Without the light,
It is nothing but noises,
It is left to waiting,
Waiting for the sunrise.
Then all of a sudden,
Without a command,
A glimpse of golden light is found,
Aglow with brilliance it awakens from its slumber,
Like an artist’s canvas,
Portrayed in majestic arrays,
There will be no more waiting,
Waiting for the sunrise today.
RUNNER-UP
Amelia Mutton – “My Ocean”
A wave of blue
with schools of fish
Creating a rainbow hue.
A circus of clown fish
Doing acrobats
And the anemones
waving their hats.
Fish darting in and out
of the giant clam’s mouth
with the pearl inside,
but to the south
the waters get darker,
And in that trove
there are many dangers.
But, I am safe in cove
with soft baby blue waters
and small little fish
with not a care in mind.
Year 9-10 Category
WINNER (TIED)
Ethan Hunter – “Return of Robin Hood”
‘Ol Robin Hood of Sherwood Town
Goes up and down to look,
To see if there are any guards,
And capture him; the crook.
While waiting for his merry men,
He’d wander ‘round the woodland,
Loading up his bow with arrows
One by one with both hands.
He saw his merry men from far,
With cheers and joy they came,
To reunite their little band
And bring hope once again.
“Aha!” he shouted with a roar
Which triggered them awake,
“To the poor we’ll secretly give
And from the rich we’ll take!”
The village they went quietly
With houses big and tall,
Into the house, Silence took them,
No notice came at all.
They swiftly came and saw the chest
Full of silver and gold,
They took that chest without a doubt
And boy, they sure were bold.
They came out with a wooden chest
And opened it with pride,
“To the poor we’ll secretly give
So taxes shan’t abide!”
As the band of heroes came ‘round
Pennies rolled at each door,
Each person awestruck at who gave
‘Cause it was a coin galore.
The mighty Robin Hood and gang
Saw everyone content,
He saw the people’s debts were paid
And boy, they sure were spent.
“Aha!” Robin yelled with a roar
Which triggered them awake,
“To the poor we’ll secretly give
And from the rich we’ll take!”
A guard heard like an elephant
And looked around in sight,
By who he saw it was; the crook!
A chase came that night.
The citizens fled in great
As guards were coming near
Not now could they pick up a fight
‘Cause horror struck their ears.
That night they stopped to stand and fight
And brawl to the bitter end
To prove everyone is equal
Why can’t all be a friend?
As the moon set, merry men passed
Robin’s friends went to fry
King John won the battle today
but Hood shall never die.
He will come with more merry men
And be known with great fame,
Coming back from Sherwood Forest
And bring hope once again.
WINNER (TIED)
Keziah Erispe – “Lord of This Land”
God of creation,
Lord of this great land.
Hear our praises rise to you.
Let our voices rise and bring glory to your name.
From the undulating dunes of the Bungle Bungles,
The blushing hues of our salt lakes,
And sun-drenched red soil,
Their beauty surrounds us.
From your land comes life.
You breathe existence into our earth.
We praise You, oh Lord for your works,
We sing songs declaring Your craftsmanship.
You are our rock,
Our Uluru.
You painted the reefs that hold our island—
They are like Your hands that carry us.
You filled the seas with life,
The oceans are teeming with Your handiworks.
We extol You our Majesty.
The reverberating sounds of the Kookaburra
Echo our praise.
The pounding of the Kangaroo
Reiterates the sounds of our hearts beating with joy.
You supply our every need,
Your creation clothes us and feeds us.
We find shelter and warmth in the sun-baked land,
Your Earth embraces us.
We exalt you, oh Lord,
May the song of our didgeridoo carry our praise to You.
RUNNER-UP
Sean Gibbon – “Rich Harvests”
The crescent blade curved gracefully through the crisp morning air,
A silver moon held aloft on a weathered pillar of gossamer wood,
To strike the tall standing, golden grass at the restricted base,
And then, lifted by the light breeze meandering across the rippling pasture,
The majestic stalks fell to the lightly moistened earth,
Soft pillows of ripened, captured sunlight piled up towards the vast sky.
As the small leading procession, guided by their whetted blades,
Continued their smooth progress across the flowing, yellow field
Into the ever expanding rich, painted horizon.
The tumbled straw lay patiently on the now golden ground
To be picked up by the following cortege and bound with light string into full bundles
And placed in the safety of a newly constructed silo.
So then blazing sky clock showed its shining face to the souls hard at work,
Another day for fertile harvest began.
Year 11-12 Category
WINNER
Marcus Johnsen – “Mirror of Black”
The saturated sunlight across the ocean did, indeed, obscure my sight.
The vastness of blue turned gold, gold to red then red to black,
As the clouds descended, the thunder cracked.
Roaring temptress of power and wrath,
Consuming the liminal space between light and dark.
The sky was quiet and dim,
None moved about it, but him.
Darkness upon me
Shades grew darker still and lost its sight.
Looking up to the heavenly lights, I navigated in vain,
Consumed by the cloak of night,
Becoming a spectre of the past.
How long shall the guarded faceless man last,
His gaze drew mine, in the eternal spire that did blind,
He whispered, “Who are you if not me?”
“I am me,” I replied
“If you are thee, then who am I but me,” said he perplexing every part of my entity.
Dawn approached hastily.
The saturated sunrise across the ocean did, indeed, obscure my sight.
The vastness of obsidian turned to red, red to gold and gold to blue,
As the clouds dissipated, the fury of nature did lack.
Subtle mistress of time and tide faded in the sky,
Serving as a memory of the liminal space that is time
The sky was quiet and fine,
None moved about it, but I.
RUNNER-UP
Moses Budiman – “Hidden Joy”
Surrounded by countless flies and the scorching heat; they walk.
They walk and rise above the rugged hill.
Feet drag across the floor; a trail to follow.
Jagged rocks and splintered logs threaten to pierce.
Dust encloses around their coarse bodies and settle into their stained lungs.
They cough and fall into dirt’s dusty hands
and are forced to drag themselves… away from the sun’s glare.
Sweat glistens on their foreheads,
Chests rapidly rise and fall.
Yet despite this, they rise again and walk.
Yes… they walk onwards towards the goal
Away from the hill’s treacherous obstacles.
Onwards to meet the constant stream of life.
The flowing river of hope.
Hearts beat faster, eyes grow wider; walking turns into running.
An almost desperate moment…
Dried worn-out bodies crash into the clear tranquil embrace of the water
Dirt, sweat and tears mingled together
Babies laugh and mothers weep, as water overflows from their mouths.
This is what they live for.
Their purpose.
Their joy.
Staff Category
WINNER
Mrs Crittenden – “Gone”
the clouds flutter across the pages of my mind,
whispering
“where are you?”
“where are you”
but nothing answers the dancing shadows
that caress the questions of my heart,
because,
you are gone.
does the door open?
are you here again?
to kiss your tenderness
or dance your endless charms?
the shadows only swallow the emptiness of my arms.
I stop.
I listen.
tears glide effortlessly
pressing
into
the
silence.
I stop.
I turn to look
but you are gone.
RUNNER-UP
Mrs James – “Hunters”
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Hay Hoh the merry mob; a Pokémon we will find.
A hunting you will go, a hunting you will go,
Food, warmth and safety too; a home you may find.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Hay Hoh the merry mob; a Pokémon we will find.
A hunting you will go, a hunting you will go,
A place away from bloody war; no sniper to be found.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Hay Hoh the merry mob; a Pokémon we will find.
A hunting you will go, a hunting you will go,
Save yourself from doom and gloom; run child-bride run, run, run.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Hay Hoh the merry mob; a Pokémon we will find.
A hunting you will go, a hunting you will go,
Your home was flattened by the quake; you’ll need a blanket or two.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Hay Hoh the merry mob; a Pokémon we will find.
A hunting you will go, a hunting you will go,
Find your long lost fam’ly who; were taken captive too.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Hay Hoh the merry mob; a Pokémon we will find.
A hunting you will go, a hunting you will go,
For teachers, books and Papermates; go find yourself a school.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
Let’s trash Kings Park and cyberland; more Pokémon we will find.
