Poetry

Mary's magazine ran a Poetry Competition. This years prompts were: elements, divinity, dreams, and morality. WINNER: Kirsten Meek, Joint Honours (English Literature and Philosophy), 1st Year I dream for a life

As I sit under the bursting sky I soak in the landscape of lilies budding; A nightingale sings me a lullaby But it can ’t contain my heart from thudding.

I dream for a life of continued bliss Where there is no threat of war. I dream for nature to always bloom like this Is that too much to ask for?

The birds here sing harmoniously But what do they sound like across the border? Governments argue zealously Bombs are dropping down as an order.

A gentle breeze caresses my face, A feeling of peace in the air, But melancholy has my place For how can I be happy? The world is in despair.

Refugees flee to us to escape their fate Why are people turning their backs? We are blessed enough to not relate Please help them, before more attacks!

I dream for children not dreaming about guns And for soldiers to quickly return home, A world where no one ’ s on the run And spouses don ’t anxiously sleep alone.

The world could easily flourish, With nature replacing war grounds, But everything seems to be malnourished, With bullets and bombs as the only sounds.

I dream for a life Is it too late for us to redeem? I dream for a life A life that lives like a dream.

POETRY

RUNNER-UP: Seren Saunders, English Literature, 2nd Year

A Meeting

I am meeting with you tomorrow, despite my better sense, to discuss the fog. It’ s thick, a choking smoke, and despite the months I’ ve spent lost in it I am no closer to finding a way out.

I am asking you to hold out a hand to me, show me the purple light hiding in the dewy grass, lady birds and crows, a kind word or a gust of wind.

Perhaps this is a lot to ask, to ask at all is a liberty –I only hope that you can see inside me, And see why I had no other choice.