Over 150 poems were entered in the Canterbury/ Waitaha Seaweek 2023 Poetry Competition and many more were written over the weeks leading up to the deadline, showing how connected our young writers are to the moana.
The judges, Jenna Heller and James Norcliffe, are both renowned poets. In fact James is so renowned he won the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry this year! Here are their picks for the senior winners:
Congratulations to
Years 9-10
1st: The Wahine, Heidi S, St Andrews College
2nd: Pōhara, Violette D, Rangi Ruru
Years 11-13
1st: I search for the pods and schools, Will R, St Andrews College
2nd: My heart is in the ocean, Suki K, Hagley College
Read the Junior winners (Year 0-4)
The Wahine
by Heidi S
the sea comes flooding in the sea welcomes me
the wahine is on her side I swim through the depths
slowly rotting away not stopping
in the depths of the sea swimming on forever
shredded metal around gaping holes thru the forests of kelp
masts and pipes snapped like twigs swimming deeper
the sea is in every crevice getting darker
the fish have made it their home watching the fish swim by
those still aboard swim towards the light
collapsed in a pile always getting brighter
of gleaming white bones and into the air
Pōhara – a poem for two voices
by Violette D
I am this space
The sky and the sea suspended together
I move as one with them
Changing from minute to minute almost in a rush to disappear
Painting the clouds with a symphony of colours
Shattered lights dance on the edge of my paddle board
Silhouettes of heroes. Mighty mountains disappearing into still dark water
I imagine their secrets of a time before tāngata came to my beach
The sand, a bare band of silence fringed with harakeke
Memories of my kapa haka skirt
Maki, guardians of Moana watch quietly
Sharing my secluded place of paradise
Your depths are a mystery
I sense the gentle whai skimming below the surface saying goodnight
Yet your surface is so clear
The tips of my fingers drag through your walls
Sand brushes tired feet
Like a hug from a lost friend
Stars rise from their beds
Each a small token of gratitude
Projections of Aroha
You are my element, my sacred love
An ocean of candles, a thousand notes of music
I search for the pods and schools
by Will R
I search for the pods and schools
the boat motor circling local shoals
gurnard, kahawai, moki
Eyes staring through me
windows of X-rays
swells bruise on the hull
persistent
a ramekin in sink water
controlled
Karoro in the nor‘west breeze
their pulled and rugged feathers
swaggering down below the arch
On top the abyss of the Canterbury bight
I peer above and below
above
and below
Searching for eyes
everything blue
but I am drawn below
past the cross-hatched currents
No gurnard, kahawai, moki
just me
and the sea
My heart is in the ocean
by Suki K
My body is on land, but my heart is in the ocean
Fingertips upon the sand currents silently awoken
Moonlight specks like freckles, dust the water's skin
The ocean is a vessel, holding secrets deep within
The tides forever shifting, guided by the waves
The sea is always listening, attentive and unchained
She breathes a melody, from deep inside her core
You might hear it if you listen, mind focused from the shore
She's been there from the start, lived on time and time again
And even when it's dark, she'll be there till the end
My body is on land, but my heart is in the ocean
The water takes my hand, and heals what has been broken
Congratulations to each of their writers
and their wonderful poetry teachers!
A huge thanks to the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education, Selwyn Libraries, Christchurch Libraries and Creative Communities Christchurch for helping bring free poetry workshops to many young writers in the lead up to Seaweek 2023.
(c) Write On 2023