Winner

Digital Friendships 

by Jet Pariera-Jenks

I have thousands of friends and likers
And all of them follow me
As if I am the coolest girl in class
Instead of little nobody.
I have thousands of subscribers and followers
As if I am the latest trend
Even though I’ve never met half of them
I’m proud to have so many friends.
Or should I call them strangers?
They could be anyone
I don’t know all their names
Or even where they’re from.
My friends could be any age
Are they older than I guessed?
I think I should be more cautious
When I’m sent a friend request.
We exchange ‘laters’ and ‘lols’ through texter
Our messages are emojis and GIFs
I have thousands of friends and strangers
In my digital friendships.

To see Jet perform her poem, click below.

https://videopress.com/v/UN3AlQrU?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Second prize

Fractured Bonds

by Salimata Gassama

I stand on the threshold of adulthood, A time of transition, a turbulent flood. Friends once close now drift away, Leaving me with memories, stark and gray. 

Adrift in a sea of changing tides, I cling to what once was, where my heart resides.

The laughter, the tears, the shared dreams we spun, Now shattered like glass in the setting sun. 

An allusion to youth, a fleeting sigh, As ambition drives us to reach for the sky. But in this journey of growing apart, Anxiety grips as it clutches my heart.

Yet courage whispers amidst the fear, Friendship’s essence ever clear. For in abandonment’s cruel sting, True bonds emerge with resilient wings.

 Freedom found in letting go, Embracing what comes, letting new friendships grow. So here I stand, on life’s grand stage, Understanding now, through wisdom’s gage.

Third prize

Peapods

by Emily Tarrant

‘Like two peas in a pod’ – what they say to inseparable friends, and young lovers.
But some pea pods, the peas are detached, and the friendship is broken.
Some peas, they quibble and quarrel in their pods.
Some peas, are happy and chuckle and grin.
Some peas, leave the pod before you take it in.
Some peas, go nasty, foul and rotten.
Some peas, yet difficult, are best left forgotten.
Such is the life of friendship and love,
Such is the life, of peas and pods.