Competition Entry

WINNER

We looked at the landscape before us,
A blanket of golden flowers,
Surrounded by mountains like the walls of a house,
The cotton wool clouds, atop the snowy peaks.

We look at each other,
Hearts pounding,
Eyes widening,
Not a word was said,
We were off!

Off across the field of sun beams,
Off across the sweets scented meadow.
Grasshoppers and crickets leaping in a wake,
Our legs striding in unison.

We didn’t know what we were running for,
We didn’t know where we were going,
But we kept going for the true joy of it.

WINNER

On lightest day, through darkest night,
The forest is large and glorious.
When trees shall fall, feel my might,
I will be great and victorious!

With emerald eyes, when very pure,
I stretch my wings in flight.
Though rubies may form, when it’s time to lure,
You all shall see the light.

You’ll feel the breeze, then face the mountains,
Where the sun is beginning to grow.
Just wait there, beside the fountain,
Then you will see me glow.

No darkness will escape my hold,
Never evil in sight.
To all who are kind and pure, Behold!
And feel my beauty and light!

My symbol is the willow,
Harnesser of breeze.
My name is Willow,
Guardian of the trees.

WINNER

Nature is beautiful
And I will never believe that
Earth is a wasteland
It is clear
That there are endangered animals on this Earth
Why should I care
For hunters that kill for nothing
I am expressing myself
Stop the violence
Don’t
Let them die
Trees are cut down
Plants are uprooted
Help them
Don’t
Watch birds fly away from home
Make a difference to the world
It would not be wise to
dispose off garbage in our oceans
Happily
Prevent innocent lives from being captured
Consider yourself weak if you
Pollute the air that we all breathe
Care about the Earth the way it cares for you
It’s a lie that you should
Throw garbage everywhere you go
You should make the Earth a better place
And never say
Nature is horrible

(Now read the poem backwards to get the reality of the way nature is being treated by humans in this world)

WINNER

Kissing a dragon is dangerous,
even if you love one a lot.
and it’s hard to give one a cuddle,
his breath is much too hot!

Nobody ever gives him a kiss,
not his mum or granny or dad,
nobody ever kisses him better-
if he falls then it’s just too bad.

If we fed dragons on ice cubes,
and they sucked them hard,
their breath would smoke so gently,
that there’d be time for one quick kiss!

WINNER

You taught me to tend for the wild,
in places where it had been quelled,
that the growth of stray wildflowers in gaps,
between the concrete of a postcard patio,
was better than a naked lawn.

As we globe-trotted amidst islands
of cigarette stubs and half-chewed gum,
making colonies on the ground,
tessellating into a synthetic Pangea,
you showed me burly roots of urban trees

breaking through uneven asphalt,
like a finger through an eggshell,
a snake of vascular tissue,
beneath a man-made facade.

That night you told me stories of Pan,
syrinx in palm, galloping through woodlands,
winking at wood nymphs.
But the only rustic music I could hear,
was of traffic and men, on too much drink.

The only woodlands I could see,
were found between plastic neon swings
in drooling play areas,
mimicking the idea of greenery.

And then, I understood why,
city trees grow fast, but die young.

Runner Up

You can just look at water fall and be amazed
Its something that can make your spirits be raised
The grass, the birds and the trees
Can make pretty much make anyone be pleased
All you can hear is the sound of nature
Every day when you walk outside, you don’t realize it
But your life is getting greater
Just imagine walking into such a magical place
You slowly walk around because you know it’s not a race
You see birds take off into the sky.
In a click they are super high
It would be a dream to win
If I won I would do a big, big spin

Springing squirrel,
run and leap,
playing a game of
hide and seek.
Camouflaged in
gold-brown leaves,
finding, cracking,
nuts with ease.

Runner Up

The morning breeze dances along the coast,
Embracing the mist that dawns over the land,
Her tranquil whispers soothe every soul,
As they gaze upon her gifts.

She supplies them with her own,
Satisfying their every need,
Bringing life down upon them with her own tears,
And letting their greed wash away her pain.

Yet despite her love,
With which she gifted them,
It’s ignored,
And given back in heaps of scraps and hate.

And so, her fury meets its peak,
Her tears flood their banks,
Through her eyes fires are sparked,
And all life comes to a halt.

She’s beautiful, exquisite, deep inside,
But only few appreciate her gift,
You’ll see that it’s magnificent, and amazing, and unique in all ways,
Once you truly embrace Mother Nature.

Runner Up

A sea of claws hunch in a curl,
Silhouettes against the syrup pool,
Shadows flee,
Ear – piercing scream
Of the winged creature’s own,
Scuttle, scuttle, legged beast,
Rustle, rustle, scuttle, shriek,
Ruby red, deadly stare,
The swiftness it holds,
It seems never there,
Deep, dark in a lair,
Damp, gloomy, spooky, creepy,
Crunch, screech, rustle, stomp,
Red, ruby, scuttle, scuttle,
Flee, shadows, syrup, scream,
The Red-wood Screecher never seen.

Runner Up

The day nature died
Is still in my memory
Of the water that flooded my eyes,
The day nature died,

I felt curious and sad,
Upset worried and glum,
It all made me want to travel back in time,
The day nature died.

The day nature died
Stays inside me forever,
The heart-warming songs it sang
And the loving chirpy smile.

And although nature is gone, its face appears
Between walls and walls of love,
Images gleaming ahead, up above.

O, the day nature died.