Schools' Poetry Competition: The Winners

140 Characters of Slow - OUR SCHOOLS POETRY COMPETITION 2017 - THE WINNERS

What is this life, if full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare?

ReLit was founded on the belief that a poem can be an oasis of calm – a moment of slowing down and reducing stress – in our frenetic world. In our 2017 Schools Poetry Competition we asked young people up to the age of eighteen to find their own oasis – a moment of calm, a time to slow down, to stand and stare – and then to translate that moment into a poem of no more than 140 characters.

We are delighted to announce the winners. In the 13-18 category, the winner was Evie Salt, aged 13, of Chorley St Michael's High School, for her poem:

Forget foolish fears,
shut behind a door.
Open up the window,
find the sea and the shore.
Sunbeam face,
wind toss hair.
Run!
Because you can.

And in the under 13 category the winner was Inigo Avery, aged 6, of New College School, for his poem:

Cold wind, small river.
A little pig and a smooth snake cross.
Dry wind, sweet and sour scent of water flowers.
The Year of the Rooster.

Evie and Inigo each won a prize of £1,000 -- £500 cash for them and £500 worth of poetry books for their school library. New College School has kindly donated half the book prize to the school that it supports in rural Ghana: Bethel International School.