Newland College students – published poets

14 Jan 2016

Max, Reka and Serena wrote the three poems below and were selected from thousands of entries across the UK for publication within a special anthology, The Poetry Trials – Southern England in December 2015. A copy of the anthology is held in the British Library and further libraries across the UK and Ireland.

Congratulations to you from everyone at Newland College. It is a remarkable individual achievement and a credit to the teaching and learning at Newland College.

Feelings In A Country Churchyard

By Reka

Small but tall the monument stands,
In a world of peaceful nature,
The wind blowing a gentle breeze,
And sunbeams shining down on me.

The grass soothingly makes a tune,
Bees buzz busy from plant to plant,
Butterflies gleam in summer sun,
Spindly creatures spin artistic.

I stand here next to the yew tree,
Where sleeping treasures ever lie,
Beneath engravings on these tombs,
Lies the past that holds the future.

My feet stand on these echoes past
Lessons to learn and maybe taught
But in my hands I hold my dreams
With both of these I’ll now walk on.

 

In Their Footsteps I Stand
By Max

Marching along, I think,
Did my great-grandfather march here?
Did he and his friends trek and chant?
Did they all sag under the bulky packs?
Did they all fumble with their rifles and grenades?
As they marched to defend Ypres,
It’s a mystery to me,
As in their footsteps I stand.

As I respectfully stride up the steps,
I think, did my great-grandfather
Stand on the fire-step,
As he and his mates received the German attack,
But not with flowers, but with hot lead
And the cold steel of their brutal bayonets,
I ponder in vain,
As in their footsteps I stand.

As I salute crisply and make sharp right turn,
I think of the inevitable counter-attack,
The shrill whistle of the junior officer
Leaping bravely in front of the men
Leading the counter-attack on the Germans,
And was my great-grandfather that officer?
I might never know,
As In their footsteps I stand.

 

Jealousy
By Serena

Her heart had been broken.
Twisted.
Pulverised with thorns.

Her hopes had been crushed.
Ruined.
Torn apart by horns.

Her spirit had been dampened when the truth had gone astray.
And now black clouds had covered up a lovely sunny day.

Her previous warm feelings had vanished in one spin,
And rage and hate had filled her with only thoughts to win.

She wanted to defeat.
Conquer.
Obtain what was hers.

She was full of hate.
Spite.
Full of jealousy.