Winnie Wins Teen Category of Poetry Competition

Congratulations to one of the Wrappers, Winnie Van't Hof-Pacheco, who won the teen category of the 2016 Kāpiti District Libraries Poetry Competition.  The theme was winter and/or Matariki and Winnie has beautifully combined the themes to produce the wonderful poem below called Statues.

Glistening from cold

the Seven Statues of ice lay frozen

Skin as blue as the glassy lake

their hands danced upon

they lay still and cold

Eyes like pools of hopes

Drowning in the snow

The cold of their hearts begin to thaw

their icy glare softens

as they see their snowy white image

stretching before their eyes

day by wretched day

they would lay being vain

begging the sun for

just one more minute of the day

until the sun went away

and the moon came to play

behind the clouds he would hide

In fear that his mind

Would fall in love with these girls

And their selfish eyes

Until the day came, he would play this game

Once every new year till they melted away

Winter by Hollandaise (AKA The Wrappers)

deep velvet darkness

the sleeping hush of the world

cosy quiet solitude

knitted blankets

burpees

sharp

like

influenza

but

guava

snowshoe hare

magic

is

Minnesota

public transport breakdown

dancing in the rain

unsocial family meals with books

miraculous sunny days

pine cones

and quiet days

are

pinpricks of exploding light

shivering through school

indoors

miserable cold and wet

reading by the fire

the crunch of burning wood

steaming mugs

blankets piled high

rain lashing windows

spiderwebs with raindrops

as

dragon’s breath

Christmas

hot chocolate

cold chocolate

snow flake

frosty air

blue, white, red, green, muted colours

in hot porridge

ice fishing at hockey

crystal kiss

morning frost

crackling fire

pearl droplets of ice

frozen lake

Ice hockey but

fire burning bright so

marshmallows melting in cocoa

hot chocolate

frost into snow

spikey stars of snow

Performance Poetry Event

Are you interested in performance poetry?  Apparently it is gaining a big following among young people. On September 28 there will be a performance poet at the local Poetry to the People get together. It will be held at the Boundary Tap and Bar (you'll need to be accompanied by a parent if you're under 18) with an open mic session at 4 pm followed by the feature poet at 5 pm.

This month’s guest is Ben Fagan, a noted Wellington performance poet. Ben’s background includes stand-up comedy and a philosophy degree, making him, he claims, one of the most unemployable people you could meet. ‘Luckily I found performance poetry,’ he says. Exploring themes of identity, gender and society, he likes to play with comedy and poignancy. Ben is a TEDx performer and organiser, a Regional Slam Finalist and an organiser of Poetry in Motion Wellington. Ali Jacs, New Zealand National Poetry Slam Champion 2012, has this to say about Ben: ‘His conversational tone and understated performance style place him somewhere between a prophet and an everyday Kiwi bloke – a dangerously charming combination.’

Ready by Simone

Congratulations to Simone for winning a poetry competition at her school.  Here for us all to enjoy is her poem about the Commonwealth Games.

Ready

I look at the water
He looks at the weights
She looks at the basket
Oh how we wait

Sweaty palms, beating hearts, thoughts wild in our minds
We've trained for years, through tears and sneers
People tell us that we can't we're not ready.

We are ready
GO!
I dive in, perfect form
He lifts the weights - up, up, up
She gets the ball, dribbles hard

We are ready!
I kick my legs to the end
He keeps it high, time is up
She makes the ball fly in, they're done.

Ready!
First!
Longest held!
Winning goal!
All is well,
Smiles, laughter, cheering too,
Countries proud,

We are ready, we are here
Crowds cheering loud
Cameras
Family
Countries
No shame
The Commonwealth Games.

Kapiti Libraries Poetry Competition Winners

Kapiti Libraries held the second annual poetry competition recently and the winners were announced last Friday. The theme was 'war and peace' to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1. The winners of the teen section were:

1st place - Star Wilson-jennings
2nd place - Gus South Aiken
3rd place - Grace Rundle-Keswick

Congratulations to these poets. Their poems were insightful and moving. You can read them on the new Teen Poetry page of The Wrap. 

Poetry Competition

Reminder: the Kapiti Coast District Libraries Poetry Competition closes next week on Friday 1st August. If you would like to enter please submit your entry by then or bring it along to the Wrappers meeting on Friday the 1st. It would be great to have some Wrappers enter the contest. Jane & I were impressed by your quick efforts at the Wrappers meeting in June. There is definitely poetic talent among the Wrappers!

The entry form can be found on the Kapiti Libraries website home page.

'I Am' by Gem

Gem's poem reveals yet another take on 'I Am' and is beautifully worded.

I am an organic clock.

My machinery melts with the solemn, slumbering gaze

Of some fiery presence in the cold and futile

Wasteland of one freckled and flawed universe.

Making sounds eclipsed by the pining silence of

Nothing.

Shining, in the telescope vision

Of that uncertainty,

Of our creator.

Ticking, in a well-established

And worn out phase of

Clinching and clasping

Rusted and golden components

Which will one day,

Stop.

'I Am' by Peter

Peter's 'I am' poem made us laugh. It's wonderfully lighthearted and squiggly!

I am an octopus, under the waves,
Squiggling everywhere for no reason,
and eating things
without a care in the world
because I am orange.

Sometimes other octopi come
and squiggle in my place.
If they are small, I eat them
and if they are big, I run 
and squiggle in a new place.

Maybe, someday, I will squiggle near you,
or maybe not.
I don't know,
I just squiggle
because I can. 

'I Am' Poetry

This month's Wrappers get together had a poetry focus. We read poetry, listened to poetry and wrote poetry. Everyone wrote a poem with one thing in common - the words 'I am'. Within five minutes a wonderful variety of poems were written and some are being shared on The Wrap. Here is Grace's 'I Am' poem:

I am here, am I not?

I was there, was I not?

I exist where I am, 

when I am,

and nothing can change that.

I am this, am I not?

I was that, was I not?

I am what I am,

as I am, 

and nothing you can do can change that.

I am me, am I not?

I was me, was I not?

I am me,

just me,

and that's all there is to it.  

Moon Girl by Eve

Enjoy this beautiful poem written by Eve - and comments are welcome.

Moon Girl

She walks above the distant land

Amidst the scattered stars

A silver, sad silhouette

A fleeting figure from afar

Where once she danced with comets

The moonlight in her hair

Now a captive, crushed and cursed

The moon she has to bear

On bended knee she hugs the moon

And seems for a moment to pray

For courage, for strength, for fortitude

To turn the night into day

She heaves the moon upon her back

Slim muscles start to quiver

The shining, shimmering silver orb

Soon it starts to shiver

Destiny, fate, cruel curse ne’er broken

She stumbles alone through the sky

Her eternal quest to carry the moon

Out of sight before morning is nigh.

Frail hands clenched she staggers forth

Bearing her burden on

Pale feet bruised, cut by the stars

She wonders why the night is so long.

She falters, her breath comes in glittering gasps

Shattered shards of pain fall from her eyes

From shaking shoulders the burden is lifted

And so, the moon sets, ‘for sun’s rise

But though the morn is now on its way

The rosy blush of dawn here

Droplets of diamonds linger still in the sky

The path of the Moon Girl's tears

Illusory Light by Gem

The following poem was written by Gem and it's great to have the first poem, and especially the first original poem, published on The Wrap. How do you interpret the poem? Gem had a theme in mind as she wrote the poem but acknowledges that the words are open to interpretation. She is interested to know how you interpret the poem and what you think it's about so please leave a comment. 

Illusory Light

Pounds, pounds, as you reach for the wine,
A stroke in the darkness of this shadowing reminiscence.
That old static crackling up your spine,
 Round and round does the record evanescence.
Hot, cold, purple, sweat.
Dry, crisp, colder, damp.

Cough, cough, the Illusory Light’s embers
Whilst caught in that hollow you and you alone asked 
In one black-white-sepia November,
“This way or that way, to be part of the cast?” 

A crowd of tailored suits and clinking glasses 
Feast the Illusory Light on fat cigars and prophetic drawl. 
Swirling tendrils of smoke ascend from hierarchical stances 
And you watch as the main man’s gleaming watch falls 
Unnoticed, ticking, ticking,
Darker, Greater; long live the King of The Mountain. 

The gaggle of low-back dressed women and black gloved hands 
You would say each bare a part in your ruin, in the blame, 
But the Illusory Light has been let in and you will never lose its brand.
Desire, lust, greed, promise; my friend you were merely prey in its game.