Berwick Literary Festival 2017 in association with Berwick Visual Arts
Scottish Colourists Poetry Competition for Schools

First Prize Y3 & Y4
Poem based on Jonquils and Silver by JD Ferguson

Stroking the gleaming silver,
Inhaling the fresh night air.
The sound of carriages catches my ear.
Where do they go? I ponder.
Smoothing the magnificent cream waves of cloth
I find myself in the forest of thoughts.

Zoah, Year 4, Holy Trinity First School

 

First Prize Y5 & Y6
Poem based on A Vase of Pink Roses by Samuel John Peploe

Me and a Bunch of Roses
I’m a willow patterned vase,
Glistening like the stars,
I am filled with a bunch of roses.

The roses are brand new,
A beautiful pink hue,
I am filled with a bunch of roses.

But now the roses are drooping,
Like an old man stooping,
I am filled with dying roses.

People waft by and petals fall,
And now I realise no one looks at all,
At me and a bunch of roses.

Emily, Year 6, Berwick Middle School

 

First Prize Y7 & Y8
Poem based on Orange Market, Saragossa by Arthur Melville

The vibrant colours flashed before my wondering eyes
The golden sunlight glanced off the water
And onto people going about their daily business
A child
Bought an orange and ran back to his house
Oh, the glory
Oh, the beauty
How do I paint the world around me?

The wonderful smells
Seeped into my body
Coursed through my veins
The fragrances penetrated the mist and shapes appeared in my mind
How do I paint the world around me?

The delightful feelings
Sent a shiver down my spine
Caressed my fingertips
The golden water felt like
Runny gold
Slipping and sliding between my fingers
How do I paint the world around me?

The beaming people
The golden river
The gleaming house
The delicious oranges
Are what create the world around me

I take a deep breath
The colours, shapes and fragrances blend and transform the blank canvas…

Owen, Year 7, Berwick Middle School