Award Winning Spring Poets

Ten Cedar Poets published in SAETA Spring Anthology

The Spring Poetry Festival is an annual competition run by the South Australian English Teachers Association and open to students from all Australian schools.

Congratulations to the following 10 Cedar College students who had their poems chosen for the state-wide poetry publication: Renae H, Caitlin L, Madison W, Irene L, William S, David R, Shanessa G, Sammi G, Jeffery C, and Mitchell C.

The Spring Poetry Anthology

Up to two poems per student can be entered and a team of English teachers then chooses a selection of the best submissions to publish in each year’s Spring Poetry Festival Anthology. Successful young poets, their families and teachers are invited to attend the Spring Poetry launch to celebrate and hear fellow students recite their work. Some poets are also awarded cash prizes for categories sponsored by the SA Writers’ Centre and Friendly Street Poets.

Cedar College has had the work of several students selected each year for many years. We are excited to see creative writing continuing to thrive at our school.

Mrs Sally-Anne Jones, English Co-ordinator

The 10 Cedar College poems selected for the Anthology are published below:

Reflection – Renae

The woman strides with such elegance

Confidence screaming her name

I watch her every move

Tiptoeing to every destination, sounding so delicate

The intricacy of her skin replicates the beauty within her ocean eyes

Her dress expands like a growing tulip when the woman spins clockwise

Salmon pink equivalent to the colour of her cheeks

I subtly step away from the massive magnificent mirror

The woman is gone, nowhere to be seen

Although, I can smell her sweetened scent tracking my every move

I hear her magical hymns as if she is directly by my side

I feel her pride within me, sticking to me like honey

The taste of rich substances

I see her once more, standing in front of that mirror

The woman is me

I finally know my place

Minton’s Playhouse – Caitlin

The strong scent of cigars hangs in the air

Swirling in a thick mist throughout the room

The stinging intensity of gin

tingles tastebuds and burns throats

Amongst the chatter of the crowd

Soulful sounds of Charlie Parker burst to life

The double bass battles with listeners’ conversations

Desperate for attention

Desperate to be heard

Elegant dresses

Cosy up to pinstripe suits

Joyous laughs mingle with the cry of a lone saxophone

Sultry songs of jazz play into the night

The King –  David

His disdain is palpable.

Sitting in his throne,

No one dares to challenge him.

Narrow eyes of keen observation

Claws sharp and beautiful like rose thorns

Teeth as strong as a lion’s

His pose like an Egyptian deity.

Humans and other animals alike

All bow to the king

Should anyone oppose him,

They too will feel the pain…

Of a hair ball in their shoe.

Who. – Irene 

I keep it clean, put together, neat.

I keep it beautiful, fit, healthy.

I keep it glowing, appealing, attractive.

Eyes open, but soul concealed.

Never letting anyone see any flaws.

I left it hurting, broken, bare.

I left it criticized, influenced, changed.

I left it tormented, isolated, neglected.

Eyes closed, but body exposed.

Never letting anyone see all the flaws.

Beyond These Stars – Shanessa

Beyond these stars,

Lies the betrayal of wishes,

Wishes that never came true,

As you gaze into their eyes.

The desperate dacoit

of heavenly bodies

took away your desires,

like a thief in the night.

Their hands will not reach you,

or softly caress you into ease,

because they want more.

So they reach beyond these stars.

Watermelon – William

A hard shell, scarred by wars with nature,

Reptilian skin stretched across, like a drum.

Guarding its charges and their food,

Fleshy and pink, dotted with youth.

Beneath this shell, its charges wait,

Small black gems, containing something precious inside.

Once the guard is slain, fate sealed,

The pink flows down in torrents.

Before The War Began – Madison

Before, the waves crashed at the shore,

The white bubbles rumbling for more.

Before, the sky was a red canvas of light,

An artist had streaked it before the turning of night.

Before, the birds chirped, whistled away,

Nature’s orchestra that was willing to stay.

Before, the clouds were so wispy and light,

The Earth’s hair before it faded out of sight.

The calm before the storm.

Ships arrived, carrying thousands of soldiers.

The first cannon boomed.

All tranquillity lost.

                                    Hearts pumping,

               blood rushing,        

bodies jostling.

Chaos, chaos

erupted like

a flock of

birds in fright.

The war had begun.

Sports Day Fruit Salad – Jeffery

The passion and team spirit in everyone’s faces delights me

A gentle breeze cools me and

I feel the excitement from my chest exploding out

GO LAVER!

The students have become a fruit salad.

Strawberries,

Blueberries,

Kiwifruits,

And, passionfruit

Colours pop from the green party plate

Summertime scents from

Freshly cut blades of grass standing in uniform

Like tiny foot soldiers

Ice – Sammi 

Frozen breath

Hearts pounding fast

Cracking ice

Forceful harness.

Paws ice-cold

Insides burning

Chains are clashing

The sled is turning.

Whips harsh

Stop, I ask

Body bleeding

Thought about my feelings?

Suffering rife

A Husky’s life

My River – Mitchell

The familiar smell of petrol floats

its way up my nose. The gurgling of the boat

fills me with adrenaline.

I squat in the deep water, knees bent, arms low,

feet pointed in. As the initial drag catches me off guard,

the boat speeds up. Slowly, I straighten my legs,

tighten my core muscles and look up to

see that the water is mine.

There is no one else on the river.

Out on the whip, I hear from the boat,

“watch out for the jetty!”

I let go.