Seven and under

Joint first prize

Family
Dolcie Della Jennings

I have a mum her name is Jenna
I have a dad his name is Leigh
I have a brother his name is Kingsleigh
And then there is me.
That’s my family.

Unity “Means Humanity First”
Naqasha Nawal Ali

Unity means we all stand tall,
Together we rise, one and all.
No matter where we’re from or who,
Kindness and love will always come through.

Helping each other, hand in hand,
Together we make a stronger land.
When we share and care each day,
Unity leads the peaceful way.

So let’s remember, it’s easy to see,
Unity means humanity, you and me!

8-11s

First prize

Family Brings Us Together
Max Heath

Your family loves you, always and forever
Your family is the thing that brings you all together

We love a family reunion, we have one once a year
We like to play in our cousins’ treehouse, while our daddies drink their beer

My mum reads cool books with me, I always laugh or cheer
My mum makes me feel unique, I always want her near

I dream of being a writer, my dad’s my biggest fan
I know he really believes in me, he always says I can

My sister says she has my back, we even talk in code
She always reaches for my hand, when we cross the road

My Grandma tells me stories – about our family past
I find them ever so interesting, they should be on a podcast

My Grandpa plays fun games with me, he always lets me win
He sits there with a happy smile, drinking a glass of gin

My family loves me, always and forever
My family is the thing that brings us all together.

Second prize

What it means to be together
Alice Colombini de Mello and Penny Lockyer

Hand in hand we get through the day
together we are better, we’re here to say
Together we get lost but we are together
so we will find our way.
We share the moments,
the smiles go on for miles and miles
The tears drop down, together we help each other
Together we conquer our fears,
and become better peers.

Third prize

Me and You
Imogen Clark

Me and you
Are like daisies and buttercups
We are friends,
Just different clumps,
I am like me
You are like you
But that’s OK
Cause you’ll stay true!
Me and you,
are like pencils and pens,
We do different things,
But we’re still friends.
I am like me
You are like you
But that’s OK
Cause
you’ll,
stay,
true!

Highly commended

When
Peggy Wingham

When midnight runs cold,
and petals grow old,
we’ll all be in it together.

When tears sprint fast,
you know it won’t be the last.
However, civilians will pull you together.

When your diamonds rust,
and you try to thrust,
I will help you, whatever the weather.

So when the rain clouds burst,
and you can’t remove the dagger.
When the lightning strikes,
one wound after the other.
Remember one thing,
that will stay true forever,
together we’re strong,
and we’re strong together.

Unity
Najia Eshaal Ali

Together we stand, as one in faith,
Helping each other, in love and grace.
Unity is strength, as we all believe,
In God’s mercy, we shall receive.

Hand in hand, we walk the way,
Sharing peace, night and day.
No matter the difference, we are one,
In the light of God, our work is done.

Unity means love, support, and care,
A bond so strong, beyond compare.
In Islam, we’re a family so tight,
United in faith, with hearts alight.

Unity
Eesha Haque

UNITY.
What more could you ask for
A bond that lasts forevermore
Like a flower we stick together
Making sure our world doesn’t turn grey
But now we have no peace left
The petals of the flower have gone astray
Fires, wars and bombs are destroying our unity
Fighting for land – it’s all wrong
To unite together we have to be a community
So we must unite like we had promised long before
Before our world comes large at war

UNITY.
We have to save our world before it’s too late

12s-16s

First prize

But they still forget
Evie Goode

Her fingers traced the grooves in the stone,
Smoothing through every dip of every sorrow, of every tear, of every word ever said.
Creased words spelled the name, carved by nothing more than a pick and stone:

ALBERT BAKER

Breath caught in her throat, he was but a boy; 20 years and remembered by whom?
The ebb-and-flow of the wind caught in hair which flew through pale wind,
Leaves danced like tiny ballerinas, graceful, painful, regretful.
The darkened truth of joy shone vibrantly through a sun which was, in turn, shielded by a haze of remorse.
Solitary droplets spun and spindled,
Maybe he felt this too.

On another occasion, a youngster approached this block, this wall of sorrows,
Grasping to the names which were never remembered – Reaching for those who never were reached:

ROBERT EDWARD BELL

Eyes glinting towards the figures which influenced this young mind, he was but young as well: 20 years and remembered by who?
The deep thoughts here reflects but the depth, the tragedy of the sea in which he fell,
Life slipping like the grubby fingers which slip down newly cleaned stone.
Brushed away into the wind, another soul forgotten with the many,
H.M.S “Queen Mary”

They would walk past his name every day; whether this was to work, school, pleasure
Who was he?
The boy was taken ill- died quite soon:

JACK DURRELL GREEN

Resting, under sun and moon. He cries for his mother, his father, his future.
A future which waits, waits, waits and waits
A future in which he will chase with broken limbs,
That’s what war does: 18, not a man but a boy – not free. Just the governments play toy.
“Thy will be done”

So you see, as her finger traces, through every nook, every cranny, every crack and crumble,
As it dances, through butter soft wind, as they walk,
Through the nights welcoming sins:
You see them there, shell shocked, skinned, scared and rearranged, mutilated and poor, stripped of rights which didn’t quite feel there before.
Watch their ghost eyes. Faces. Tears.

3 of a kind, 3 dead in millions, not forgotten in words. A war to end, but still cause more.

Second prize

Stars
Andrea Domingo

An upbringing of stars, like ochre pearls,
Above you is familiar. The motionless, gangling night Follows you, like an inky shadow.
The same sky entices you to sleep,
Even in an unfamiliar town,
Even throughout an unknown city you’ll never see,
Outstretching across the Earth.

Third prize

Timeless Duality
Emily Peters

Tell me dreams of starlight Of hell and raging fire
Tell me your love, your hopes, your wants Come show me your desire
Run deep beneath the boughs with me Trip and fall on rocks
We’ll look at clouds and sing to them About tears, your blood, your shock Let the sea become our medic
As the crimson stops its run Push and drown us in its body As its always done
Then surface, as we breath The sweetness of the air Wind will shove us upwards It’ll ruin and pull at our hair
But we’re hand in hand in the forest
And we’re breathless and smiling just because We both love these sides of nature
We both love that it’s just like us.

Highly commended

Together
Jessica Jones

Together
One brick is not a wall
But many bricks form a strong, sturdy wall.
One lion, no matter how strong
Cannot be a pride
But many lions is a pride with a mighty stride.

Streams join to form rivers,
Rivers join to make oceans.
Just as people join to make friendships,
Friendships grow to make lifelong bonds.

Together we stand tall.
Alone we stand small.
There is no I in team,
But there is an us in trust.
Trust forms to make a shield,
So do not let your shield rust.

Together we have a chance,
To make a difference.
Alone we do not make a dent.
The thing we all must learn is,
One pole cannot support a tent.
Joined we have the best chance,
To be the change we want to see.

Together,
Standing in unity.

Unity Poem
George Lovelock

Once we stood as a whole together, Thinking powerful bonds would last forever,
In a few years time these bonds have shattered, We left the people who really mattered.
Life as a wall, it got in the way,
The friends we knew disappeared day by day, Now that we’re lonely, now that they’re gone,
Should we have let go of these powerful bonds?
Looking back on the memories of happier times,
Ones shared with friends, now but thoughts in our minds, The people spent time with, the people who cared,
These friendships we forged and the memories we shared.
Remembering times, wishing we could go back, So we could see again, the friends we now lack,
Our friends that were there but aren’t here anymore, The friends that we loved and still love evermore.
What unifies us are the friends that we share,
Our friends that stay with us, the people who care.

Picture by Robert Butts on Pexels