Thanks to Ron Butlin, the Edinburgh Makar, for judging our poetry competition on the theme ‘Stars’. He enjoyed reading the poems and sends his best wishes and warmest congratulations to the winners. For more information about Ron, please have a look at his website, www.ronbutlin.co.uk. This competition was generously supported by the Scottish Poetry Library, with their donation of poetry books, badges and postcards. First prize winners also receive a £10 book token supplied by the Garvald Childrens’ Events funds.

All winning entries have been published here on the Garvald website. In addition, a small booklet containing all of the poems entered in the competition was published for distribution to all winners and was made available in the village for local residents to read. Here is a copy of the booklet: PoetryCompetition2012. This document is in PDF format. If you require Adobe Reader to view the document, click the link below to download the Reader software.

The winners are:

5-8 years

First prize: Angus Bogie, runner-up: Jemma Swan, commended: Daisy Ingram

9-10 years

First prize: Isaac Ingram, runner-up: Victor Strang Steel, commended: Anna Connolly

11-12 years

First prize: Pandora Bannister, runner-up: Ariana Willoughby, commended: Hamish Davidson and Robin Bellamy

13-18 years

First prize and runner-up: Emily de Gruchy

Winning Entries

5-8 Years

Winner: Angus Bogie.
Ron Butlin comments “A good sense of vast time and space – very imaginative, especially the second verse.”

Stars

Vikings looked up to the stars
To help them travel very far
The wise men too, looked up high
And followed a message across the sky

When I look way, way up high
Like flecks of dust in the night sky
Stars appear and seem to turn
Then twist away before they burn

by Angus Bogie

Runner-up: Jemma Swan

Stars up in the sky

Stars, stars up in the sky
Filling the moonlight sky
Shooting above you at night
They shine through your bedroom at night
I wish I could fly to the stars
Maybe I will

by Jemma Swan

Commended: Daisy Ingram

Stars

Shining stars,
Twinkling brightly.
Amazing pictures made.
Run outside, take a look.
Stars.

By Daisy Ingram

9-10 Years

Winner: Isaac Ingram.
Ron Butlin comments, “full of curiosity and very vivid – I could imagine the author outside shivering!”

Stars

Stars twinkle at night time, a pretty light they make.
Ready to stargaze, I’m shivering while looking through a telescope.
A hot chocolate warms me up.
Constellations shimmer, Orion and The Plough.
Fiery balls of gas, floating in the sky.

by Isaac Ingram

Runner-up: Victor Strang Steel

Shooting Stars

Stars are bright and big
Sometimes small but light up the sky
They are shooting and staying, dancing and playing
But still they light up the sky

The moon is big
The sun shines bright
But the stars are a wonder to me
They sit there bravely
Wondering when they’re going to die
Mars and Jupiter look on in May
As the stars go shooting by.

by Victor Strang Steel

Commended: Anna Connolly

Grandma Star

Stars are shining balls of light
Especially on dark nights
They shine so nicely
So very, very brightly
And sometimes they go poof!
If it is a nice star, it could be my grandma.

by Anna Connolly

11-12 Years

Winner: Pandora Bannister.
Ron Butlin says, “This poem delighted me at first reading – and kept on doing so. It has a real ‘voice’ , is playful and is a genuine celebration!”

The Dancing Star

Do you dance across the sky?
Oh Silver Star
Please don’t lie
Oh dancing star
When you whizz across the sky
Do you dance or do you fly?
Please tell me oh dancing star
Every night I see you star
And wonder why
You swoop and glide
Oh Silver Star
Please don’t lie
I promise not to tell a soul
If you tell me why you
Swoop and glide and dance and fly
Across the beautiful midnight sky.

by Pandora Bannister

Runner-up: Ariana Willoughby

Fight for the Night

The moon and the sun
Anger raging
Small star soldiers fighting for
Their right, and for their Queen
Vanquish the soft clouds of day

Blackening sky battles the
Blood red glow of the sun!
Clouds catch shooting stars falling dead
Sun burns the field of battle
Moons’ light reaches out, the sun breaks down

The Sun turns, the moon’s there
Sun starts setting as he loses ground
The stars dance in clots of black
They stand tall in the sky one proud
One bowing to its queen.

by Ariana Willoughby

Commended: Hamish Davidson

A Stage of Stars

A vast stage of day
A packed stage of night
Shooting stars put on a show
Rejected few don’t shine in time
And their glory fades to dust
But one star is first to play
Venus is the name, or Evening star
Does shine and glimmer
From start to end until
The show has come to a close
The lights come up
As the stage takes a bow,
The sun begins to rise
But it is night time somewhere
And the show goes on

by Hamish Davidson

Commended: Robin Bellamy

Thank your lucky stars

Some say you wish upon a star,
Then luck will come your way,
But I disagree with this,
And so I’d like to say…

That you can’t get luck from Venus,
You can’t get luck from Mars,
You can’t even get some luck,
From such great things as stars…

But things you can get from stars are…
Constellations, novel plots, a lot of astronomy,
Heat and fire and danger –
the Sun’s a great big star you see.

Jobs from NASA and TV shows,
Drops of light that look like snow,
Up in the massive sky,
Comets with tails that fly.

And best of all star-based merchandise,
Aside star anise and other spice,
Is Milky Way, Mars, Galaxy –
these are the best of all for me.

by Robin Bellamy

13-18 Years

Winner: Emily de Gruchy.
Ron Butlin says, “A good sense of wonder at the mystery of it all.”

Glittering Heights

Looking up to sea of shiny stars,
I begin to wonder why:
‘Why do the stars shine so bright?
‘In the dark, velvet sky?’

Like fireflies in a moonlit forest;
Dissipated far and furthermore.
Never have my eyes witnessed
So many little lights before.

A million minute candles;
The stars are at glittering heights,
Burning bright throughout the night,
Full of energy, full of grace, those beautiful little lights.

by Emily de Gruchy

Runner-up: Emily de Gruchy

Starry Career

When I’m older,
I want to be an astronaut;
So I can look at the galaxy from afar
And look at all those shiny stars!

Looking through a telescope,
And stepping on the moon;
Maybe I’ll even see a star or two,
And maybe touch one too!

by Emily de Gruchy