Polly wins planetary poetry prize

 

Overall winner of the Woodhouse poetry competition - Polly Knights

 

The winners of our 2023 Woodhouse poetry competition on the theme of 'The Planets' were announced just before Easter and the overall winner for best poem is student Polly Knights.

 

The winner and three runners up (Enzo, Hillary and Ibrahim,) all received prizes of Amazon vouchers. 

 

Head of Faculty and Head of English John O'Shea, said "There has been such a great selection this year. The theme has inspired meditations on the planet, individual relationships both lost and unobtainable, social commentary, the characteristics of the planets through flights of the imagination.  Incredibly, there were 58 entries this year and we took votes from among the entire Woodhouse staff to make this a truly democratic decision. This was an exceptional year for really accomplished work."

 

Winner Polly - who came to Woodhouse from The Elstree UTC and is studying A level biology, drama and psychology - said "My biggest inspiration was the Japanese anime 'Your Lie in April,' which I adapted into a short story last year and subsequently into a poem. My poem 'June Afternoon' tells the story of a boy who channels his grief into music, ultimately creating an entire solar system.

 

My passion for poetry stems from its wide range of interpretations and the freedom it allows me to express myself and tell stories without the constraints of rules or conventions. With my poetry voucher, I purchased embroidery threads and a canvas for an embroidery project I am currently working on.

 

Winning the poetry competition has empowered me to continue writing poetry and draw inspiration from the techniques and effects used by the other poets in their entries. Studying at Woodhouse strikes a perfect balance between academic rigor and a social life, as I am able to talk openly with my peers who also motivate me to strive for my best."

 

June Afternoon by Polly Knights

 

I play the piano,

One last time for her,

Playing twinkle twinkle little stars

Hoping we get to see the stars again

Above the peer,

Or over the fields,

under the moon

On a random

June afternoon

I play the keys so hard,

Friction turns my fingers bloody

Creating red embers

and yellow sparks

That turn to golden stars

And Gleaming planets,

I wish you could watch me

As I make this auditorium

a planetarium

In this planetarium

I’ve made you a solar system

Out of music,

Where we can watch the stars

And planets,

All day

And night

But now

There’s a black hole,

Not made by music

Made by sickness

My hands are dancing,

My heart is pouring,

But no amount of melody

Will bring her back to me.

There are no more stars,

No more planets,

No more little moments under the moon

On a random

June afternoon

 

 

Many other students produced very high quality poems that were worthy of a prize but three stood out from the rest -  Enzo, Hillary and Ibrahim. Congratulations and well done to all who took part.

 

 

 

 

Amid the night I look upon the shore

The moon peaks its head above endless seas

All I can think about is you

Had it told the moon about you

It would create tides

Matching the melody of your heartbeat

Had I told the wind about you

It would leave the sky

And command its nimbus clouds

To deliver me to you

 

 

 

Grandad told mummy he followed the stars

To Burma Bright teeth, grinning,

With his characteristic Ghanaian gap

An army man with an army rank

His duty, an extension of a greedy limb

Like the body of Leviathan

Little African bodies fingering eastwards

The colonial head nodding with approval

He drank from the wisdom of the planets

He met the stars and carried his mala beads

A tall, proud man

Stooping to his new religion

A new, Taurus sun

Stubborn, he couldn't forget

Even back home

Where Grandma held her rosary

Taking her devi wo (children) to mass

Disillusioned

He poured his findings into his baby

He told her of the planets creating and dancing to Borborbor music

The thrash of the Ewe drum, the start of a new enlightenment

Discovering beauty in the divine

They were both of the Venus Earth

Sign

It’s another planet, that is sure

Unorthodox witchcraft

Juju, Voodoo

Celestial predictions, horoscopic inscriptions

Nothing like the master’s desire

He dances amongst the planets now

Three years of passionate orbit

In his draped robe cloth, his technicolour coat

Peering over the head of empire

Still whispering to mummy, to me

 

 

 

Just a young swan, floating about in solitude.

I cannot last remember,

being together with my brother,

who has not been by my side

ever since the day our parents died.

 

Every night when the sun falls asleep,

When the stars take a leap

and the babies all weep.

Two planets appear and they look ever so near.

So I stare in awe as my surroundings disappear.

 

The first. Larger than the other.

Mighty in size, but not void in colour.

Makes a young swan like me

Feel as mighty as a tree

And that is exactly what I want to be.

 

It’s pair,

So close yet so far.

As if it was brushing against my hair.

Made me feel like I was a star.

 

A tear trickled down

Until there I found

A warm white wing,

Wiping away my sorrow with a fling.

Together we watch the planets align

As if we have been together all this time.