From icy snowflakes to the great salmon swim, our winning poems in the Year 5–6 category evoke some of the ephemeral wonders of the world.
Congratulations to Emily Lam (Presbyterian Ladies’ College), Zaid Zuhair (Fitra Community School), Haley Cheong (Harkaway Hills College), Naushali Navaratne (Harkaway Hills College) and all of those who received honourable mentions.
The competition attracted over 850 entries from students in Foundation to Year 12 across all school sectors in Victoria.
Emily Lam, Presbyterian Ladies' College
My friend, you ask
what is the meaning of awe?
where must I go to find it?
My friend, try the dictionary if you wish
but you’ll not find it there.
Don’t you know
a book is more than its cover?
a word is more than its definition?
My friend, I will show you
awe
as it is for me
after all, sorry is that person
who has lived their life
without feeling
that moment that takes their breath away
that beauty that is pain.
You ask- is it the Niagara Falls?
The Sistine Chapel?
My friend, yes, for some that would be true,
But for me, awe resides in the quietest of moments-
in infinite places if you know where to look.
Now, for sunset, there’s no better place
than the Murray River
bobbing softly, languorously, on the deck of a moored houseboat.
My friend, feel those colours-
clouds veiled in soft dove-grey with hints of violet hues
clouds delicately edged in palest pink, clouds gowned in cloaks of peachy amber
clouds rolling across the sky in great swathes and puffs of cotton wool, their soft grey and white shot through with arrows and lances of fiery gold, pillowed on cushions of crimson-drink it all in-
and can you see the circling silhouettes of wheeling birds serenading the sun,
disporting themselves in the last gift of his light and warmth?
Oh, my friend,
just see it, watch as the clouds dispel and fold away their finery for another evening, feel it with all of your heart-
that is all I ask.
My friend,
we’ll stay here
till the coolness of dusk sets in
and watch as the quiet sky
changes softly, tentatively, from golden silk into black velvet.
Lift up your head now,
greet the stars as one by one she pins them
on her dress to replace her evening glory
They speckle the inky sky now,
wonderful, ethereal, gazing at a
million little diamonds of light
and a pale, milky moon that she wears on a chain around her neck.
My friend, you still can’t say what awe is?
To tell the truth, my friend, neither can I.
Awe must be felt with the heart, mind and soul-
and if they know it, there is no need for any words
to describe it,
just experience it and enjoy-
that is more than enough.
Zaid Zuhair, Fitra Community School
One ocean
Far and vast
One fish
Small and vulnerable
More join
Tens
Hundreds
Thousands
They’re off
The school
the swarm
Driven by instinct
They swim
Home
Where it all began
Closer, they come
The river at last
They approach
Wary
A shadow advances
Hungry
A paw slices the water
Jaws snap
Scales fly
Crimson water
Not all survive
One life lost
Yet tens
Hundreds
Thousands, continue
Generations come to pass
Eggs become ancestors
The cycle repeats
Haley Cheong, Harkaway Hills College
Who made the snowflake?
This one here on my glove.
This beautiful phenomenon,
A purely ice inspired one.
Each inch and every corner,
An intricate masterpiece.
Each miraculous and tiny,
Every flake is so unique.
Naushali Navaratne, Harkaway Hills College
Written poetry
- Meike Chow, Tintern Grammar – Tomorrow
- Brooklyn Clarke, Tintern Grammar – The Tortures of Hate
- Anton Dean, St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School – The Snowball Effect
- Ruhaanbir Dhillon, Southern Cross Grammar – Minecraft: A Thrilling Adventure
- Jacinta Elvin, St Michael’s Grammar School – Just Any Other Owl
- Teddy Fang, Fitzroy Community School – Waterfall
- Henry Fulton, Tintern Grammar – Nuclear
- Felicity Hack, Harkaway Hills College – My Frail Butterfly
- Mia Healey, Strathcona Girls School – Wonder
- Rex Locket, St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School – Metal Birds
- Emily Lo Doherty, Lauriston Girls’ School – Animal Instincts
- Florence McKay, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School – Awe
- Clarissa Ma, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School – Awe
- Ibraheem Mohamed, Fitra Community School – Awe
- Oliver Moran, Wesley College – Melbourne Morning
- Sophie Pham, Lauriston Girls’ School – This is Awe
- Kate Riding, Covenant College – Mackie
- Lola Rowe, St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School – Blue
- Shahini Silva, Harkaway Hills College – Wonders
- Sofia So, Ballarat Clarendon College – My Dog
- Reuben Stringer, Wesley College – Quokka’s Question
- Angela Teng, Lauriston Girls’ School – Fire
- Claire Tian, Lauriston Girls’ School – Flying
- Raphael van Strijp, Lysterfield Lake College – Coral Bay in Western Australia
- Thomas Vittas, Flinders Christian Community College – Ran
- Charlotte Xia, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School – Awe, The Seasons
- Sumayya Zuhair, Fitra Community School – The Red Panda
Performance poetry
- Noah Ha, Kilvington Grammar School – The Cycle of Awe
- Aya Mariam, Australian International Academy – Joy and Happiness
- Vraamarsh Punati, Southern Cross Grammar – Awesome Melbourne
- Samuel Sun, Wesley College – Like Before
