Runners-Up: Ubique Poetry Competition
Junior Category
Today by Chi Nguyen
A small hidden forest,
Flora twirling with the wind,
Blending with the birds’ chirping.
Whispering of the trees and plants,
Creating their own song,
Broken by the kitchen’s resonant sounds.
Snow white flowers, small but bright,
Standouts in the dark sea,
Twinkling stars in the moonlight.
Delicate white petals,
Softer than silk,
Breaking to the touch.
Sweet lingering smells of blueberry,
With faint hints of sour lemon,
Light flowery fragrances, encircling its surroundings.
The moody wind whistling through its surroundings,
Soft and harmonic one moment,
The next raging and howling.
Ice-cold yet refreshing water,
Splashing into a barren desert,
Replenishing the mouth.
My Now By Joni Schlechta
My now does not belong to me
It is perfectly shaped, carefully cut, a photocopy
My now was made in a sweatshop, ironed, folded crisply
Bought in bulk, with a thousand others
So lucky, so privileged, (and cheaper by the dozen!)
My now was made with little hands, hands made smaller by starvation
It was made by the desperation of millions, and the greed of few,
Made by the masses, by those determined to look away
Made by adults who laugh at our opinions, laugh at the future
Because people are not people ‘til they’re forty!
My now is rust-proof, chemical coated, varnished and sanded
You can paint it whatever colour you want, red! Blue! Yellow!
Just as long as you can never see the thing that’s underneath
Tiny fingerprints marring its perfection
Brief and impermanent markings
Their now is inherited, second-hand, an heirloom,
Passed down through generations, handcuffed to them,
Splattering its dark blood over their lives.
My now will not shape me.
I will shape myself.
Senior Category
Now by Jie Yang
Fear, Exhaustion, Death, Injuries
And that is what happening now.
People evacuating; Flame burst from the windows; Smoke rises as high as possible,
And that is what happening now.
Screaming, alarming, pushing, rushing,
And that is what happening now.
Water burst out from the nozzle; Foam sprayed from the red barrel; Hose lines are all over on the ground,
And that is what happening now.
By Oscar Welch
1.
Decay, withering collapse
And that is what is happening now
Doors close, stories end
And that is what is happening now
When doors close, more open
And that is what is happening now
Growth, rebirth, tears mend
And that is what is happening now
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2.
The seed has been sown
The tree will wither away
But now it is pristine
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3.
Now is this moment
That moment was now
That moment is no longer now
This moment is now now
Now is confusing