Judges Comments
As ever, the younger poets were the ones who were the most open to playing with words and expressing the sheer joy of life. Gardens in this category are places of wonder and discovery, and that wonder is shared with the reader. The quality of poems was very high, with excellent attention to detail. The special mentions in this category both used beautiful descriptions
that lifted the poems off the page. I was caught by a description of snowdrops as ‘white lampshades shining over the soil’ in the poem Wings. In the poem Hideaway I felt like the poet was taking me by the hand and pointing out all the things that I had forgotten to notice. The winning poem in this category, Dreams of Light had me at the first line: A seed sleeps in the
darkness, but it dreams of light. When I talk about the way that poems reflect the world, this is what I mean. We all have the potential for growth, and are all dreaming of the light. Hold fast, the poem seems to say, Spring will return, the light will come back, there will be warmth and birdsong again.
Winner
Dreams of Light – Maya Pal, London
A seed sleeps in the darkness but it dreams of light
In sweet slumber
It stretches
Its roots far and wide
Searching, longing for the whispers of the wild wind
The murmurs of the rain
Winter’s frozen rule
Tries to bind its will
But still it twists and turns
Yearning, pining, growing
Until the frosts grip shatters
And it sprouts, shoots, soars
Into the land of it’s stories
The birthplace of its hope.
Special Mentions
A Hideaway – Lyla Bullock, Australia
Below the sights that we wish to see
There’s a slumbering snail, a wizzing bee
Hiding in the grass underneath our feet
A cockroach and ant, suffering in the heat
Above the beaches where children play
A ladybug soaring, getting out of the way
Over the hills where our houses lie
A wet butterfly dipping, struggling to fly
All of them going to a place they know well
The home of the roses, the home of bluebells
With strawberries lying right under the sun
The capsicums here just for everyone
If you’re wondering what place this must be
Get out of the house, you don’t need a key
Now go to the backyard, there’s no time to spare
Now stand by the garden, for they’re all waiting there!
Wings – Florence Dreier, Oxford
I step out into the garden
and see the snow drops. They look like
white lampshades shining over the soil
waking up the worms. I hear the pitter
patter of the drizzle turning into rain
helping the flowers. I see lily pads
in the pond, emerald green stepping stones
for frogs. I wish I could summon wings
when I wanted them so I could soar
with the butterflies and bees.
I would go exploring with the Monarchs
along the Great wall of China. On some days,
I would head to the Mediterranean Sea
and make friends with the turtles.
All that clear blue comforts me.
When I see the snowdrops I feel free.
Finalists
Honey – Arthur Rose, Gloucester
Honey is a little peach that hangs over the cliff of life,
and falling deep deep inside,
is falling deep inside the city,
that one and only one can take it.
Honey is like a leaf that falls on one ground,
And sends a shockwave of hope and pride,
And falls into a poor soul’s hands that is desperate for food and water.
Where Coral Meets Fungus – Ziva Patel, Kent
In the garden, growing solitary,
Feeding on a fallen spruce stump,
Among dull brown decomposition,
Spectacular orange antler stalks strike up.
In the wild water, flourishing belongingly,
Dancing perfectly with the current,
Purposeful among a reef community,
Protecting, providing, preying.
In the garden, branching lonesome,
No place among the golden grounds,
No flowers, no foliage, no fauna,
Feeling like a flaw in flora.
In the open ocean, living interwoven,
Befriending zooxanthellae, sharing light,
Spreading an aquatic colony of polyps,
Sessile yet symbiotic.
In the garden, loneliness fades,
As deep, tangled relationships form,
Stretching into a colony of mycelium,
Sessile yet symbiotic.
In the body of blue, desolation rises,
Biodiversity bonds breaking,
As orange bleaches bare
A watery world of white evolving.
In the sea garden, it is coral.
In the autumn garden, it is fungus.
Different kingdoms; parallel habitats;
Where both belong when connected
And both stand out when bonds weaken.
Blackbird – Matilda Jobson, Ireland
Blackbird, Blackbird
Sing your sweet song
Wake the dark
Of the winters dawn
The Last Leaf – Advait Anand, USA
Within the garden where the fruit will reap,
An orange tree stands strong in midday light;
Its bark holds heat the noonday sun drives deep,
And citrus scent walks confident and bright.
Yet one dry leaf hangs barely on its stem,
Its edges curled like paper scorched by blaze;
It crackles faintly when I brush past them,
A single record of the harsh, new days.
It speaks of droughts that left the barren soil,
Of sudden storms that split the evening air;
Of scorching sun that makes the branches boil,
Each scar a mark that humans did impair.
And in that leaf universe keeps its proof—
The world has changed, and earth bears the hard truth.
The Guest – Sidhiksha Prasad, Epsom
In the garden, as Spring arrives
The flowers come to life
The bees buzz, the snails wriggle, the birds fly,
That makes the garden welcome you and I.
The farmer sows the seeds and ploughs the fields,
As there are many to feed, fulfilling every need,
Planting a loving seed, for the future we need.
In the garden, as Summer arrives,
The Sun and Moon are friends at this time,
While You and I are having fun,
This is the perfect season for love to come.
Free children, free birds, free lives,
Which makes our lives want to shine with an open mind,
The month of June trembled like a butterfly,
In a world, where you can be anything, be KIND,
Take care of your garden, keep out the weeds, make sure you keep it clean.
The Wind gets stronger, as Autumn is around the corner,
Ready to do the Golden Dance, the garden is ready for a chance
Summer’s gone, but colours grow,
Before the coming of shiny snow
The garden is sad, and the flowers are gone,
Don’t worry it won’t last for long,
Look at the snowy blanket of peace
Making the garden sparkle and glow,
Thinking deep in the soft Pillow.