Grace Sudjono, a Year 6 student at Harkaway Hills College, has won ISV’s Student Poetry Competition 2021 in the Years 5-6 category for her poem, Awaiting Spring.
The competition, part of our Arts Learning Festival, was open to students from all school sectors, and attracted some 350 entries.
Watch Grace read the poem in the video below, and read it for yourself, along with the students awarded honourable mentions in the category for their outstanding work.
“This beautiful, lyrical poem, with its waterfall of vibrant words, is a joyful ride through the four seasons.”
I hear the voice of Summer;
Pinnacle of life for all seasons.
Calling me outside,
Into the glorious sun,
Wrapping me in her warm, brilliant rays.
The sunlight illuminates the ancient gums,
Radiating it’s glory.
The wattles sway
And trip in the breeze.
The kookaburras chuckle,
Galahs and Lorikeets galore
Join in the chorus,
Singing to the tune.
Summer, who took the throne,
Abdicates!
Her sister takes her place.
Lush, verdant greens,
Turn to vivid hues
Of orange, ochre and gold.
An old, dry, sharp, prickly smell,
Hovers in the air.
The warmth lingers;
A persistent reminder
Of the cold that is to come.
Autumn falls into a slumber,
Giving herself over to Winter.
She sends sharp warnings to stay inside,
Howling from the eaves.
A mantle of frost,
Covers the dry, dead leaves,
That crunch like sugar underfoot.
Beneath bare trees; naked from winter’s rasp.
The wind bites!
The air is frozen lace on my skin.
The sea has surrendered her blue,
Ocean stones are darker than ever.
Spring melts Winter’s icy bouquet,
Her parade in bright bloom.
Banksias step delicately onto the stage,
Honeysuckles soon follow.
Trees rise to the occasion,
Donning their best verdant hues.
The buzzing of insects,
The optimistic birdsong,
Enlivens all hearts.
Spring rests her rainbow palette,
And sends her rain
To kiss the rich, brown soils;
To awaken tiny seedings
And sing to them as they grow.
- Harvey Behrendorf, Year 6, Fitzroy Community School – The Joy of Words
- Julianna Avila Daboub, Year 6, Harkaway Hills College – Sapphire Mountains
- Ada Hammerton-Lee, Year 5, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School – Us All
- Laura Liu, Year 6, St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar School – Little Lettie
- Valeria Castro O’Byrne, Year 5, Harkaway Hills College – Uluru
- Christine Silva, Year 6, Harkaway Hills College – The Reef
- Min Xin Sim, Year 6, Camelot Rise Primary School – Nature
- Annabel Stuckey, Year 6, Harkaway Hills College – The Great Grampians
- Felicity van Rensburg, Year 6, Harkaway Hills College – Down Under
- Ella Xiang, Year 6, Wesley College Glen Waverley – Dawn and Dusk
- Yannee Xu, Year 5, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School – I am the Fire
- Eugenie You, Year 5, Fintona Girls’ School – The Untitled Joy
- Monica Yu, Year 5, Harkaway Hills College – Nature’s Magic
Watch other winning poems in this year’s Student Poetry Competition.
You can also find full results and view the winning poems on The Parents Website.
