Given Words Results!

Our Russley Writers sent our poems to Spain for this year's Given Words Poetry Competition. Students at López de Arenas Secondary School, Marchena, Seville, Spain, made 'word films' and five words from these were picked for this year’s competition: broken, reflection, disappear, path and paint.

Our poems had to include these five 'given words'. 

To get our creativity flowing, we began by making our own word films. You can watch our word films below:

Charles Olsen made special mention of our film in his judging comments:

"I have received a wonderful collection of ‘word films’ from pupils at Te Parito Kōwhai Russley School in Christchurch. They had a lot of fun making them and were also excited about the poems they wrote travelling all the way to Spain!"

Now... to the results of the poetry.

Whilst we didn't win... some of our poems stood out as favourites among the judges and were among a small number selected to be published on the Given Words website. 

Congratulations to: Laylah, Emily H, Jimmy K, Max B and Tenushki.

The judges had this to say...

" I particularly liked the simplicity of Broken Reflections and how it creates a beautiful image with its original way of looking and listening ‘the sound of the waves/as they calmly crawl up the sand’, how the sun becomes ‘a broken reflection/in the endless sea’ and the final path is one of the most original, the ‘orange beams’ … ‘a path to nowhere.’ "

Broken Reflections

I sit and listen
to the sounds of the waves
as they calmly crawl up the sand
while I watch the sun disappear

a broken reflection
in the endless sea

the sunset paints
an autumn colour in the sky
orange beams shoot from above
creating a path
to nowhere.

Laylah Broughton, aged 12
Ōtautahi Christchurch

My Sandcastle

On the side of my sandcastle
I place little pieces of broken seashells
as small as a newborn baby's palm.

The painted path is small chips
I stole from my sister's lunch.

On the top of my castle is
my mum’s small makeup mirror
in which I can see my dripping wet reflection.

But then in comes the mighty tide
causing my beautiful sandcastle
to disappear under the wild waves
never to be seen again

Soon after I can hear my mum ask,
'Have you seen my mirror?'

Emily Halliday, aged 12
Ōtautahi Christchurch

Dear Grandma

It was sad when when we needed to leave your sight
and disappear from sri lanka

I look at my reflection
the spark in my hazel-brown eyes
and I think about you

Now I feel like the path to you
has broken

I really wish that you can stay in new zealand
forever and do fun stuff like painting

Tenushki Rangasinghe, aged 7
Ōtautahi Christchurch

Hey Dad

Hey Dad,

Sometimes, I wish I had your skills:
being able to paint well;
walking straight tall and proud on the path;
able to make problems disappear;
and never breaking dreams.
I wish I was a reflection of you—
that would be awesome.

Jimmy Kitchingman, aged 13
Ōtautahi Christchurch

Waiting for the Turtles

My hands disappear into the cold sand,
I look at the ocean

The reflection of the blue moon
paints a broken path
across the water

I feel as cold as the waves

Max Bell, aged 11
Ōtautahi Christchurch

You can read the rest of the selected poems here: https://nzgivenwords.blogspot.com/2023/09/given-poems-national-poetry-day-2023.html