By Mrs N Howorth

The theme for the Felsted School Poetry Competition this year was 'truth'. This attracted many thoughtful poems about the nature of truth and lies and the impact they can have on individuals and the world around us.

Many pupils questioned whether telling 'white lies' is sometimes better than telling the truth.I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff and students who took part and I hope that, even if you weren't a winner, you enjoyed taking the time to write your poems.

Congratulations to our winners! 

• Tom Conlon
• Ruby Rose
• Guy Morley-Jacob
• Hannah Bacon.

Please see below for the winning entries. 

Maddening Truths

Tom Conlon (Yr12)

Upon a hill of grass and weeds
I met a man I could not see

He touched my eyes with blinding truths
He told me things I never knew

Visions of the writhing beasts
Beneath the flesh of all men sleep

Recited his truths of burning fire
That fuel the swirling pools of Ire

He told me of the eyes at night
That lurk behind the bounds of sight

He spoke to me of Gods of Old
Who lay under tree and stoney knoll

I heard the moans of dying men
Never to see their loves again

I learnt the secrets of the dark
The prowl of madness, I impart

Upon a hill of grass and weeds
I met a man I could not see

He touched my mind with sightless dread
He visits me with words unsaid.

 

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Truth Poem

Guy Morley-Jacob (Yr9)

Since I was a small blonde boy,
I have heard,
“Tell the truth,”
“Don’t lie,”
“Tell the truth,”
And I did at 5 years old;
Even six,
Probably seven,
But at eight I threw my vegetables in the bin.
Mum didn’t see,
She looked slightly mystified at the pace the greens had disappeared,
She asked me, had I eaten them?
Her voice slightly rising,
Inflicting a sense of fear,
“Yes” I said.
Directly
Strongly.
And that wasn’t the truth
And nothing happened.
No lightning bolt.
No adverse reaction.
In fact Mum smiled.
The truth had slipped into the bin with the broccoli.
Gone.
But a seed of guilt entered my mind.
A gnawing.
A persistent throb.
Surely it is better to tell the truth?

 

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The Prisoner

Hannah Bacon (Yr 9)

The prisoner clings to my soul
Pounds on my chest begging for freedom from the effective shield
Commonly known as a smile
Behind which I disguise it.
It tugs at my mind whenever I try to contradict my emotions
And digs at my heart when muttering “I’m fine.”

Not a day passes where the guilt fades
And the prisoner’s pleas for release are met
But for now,

I’ll continue to swallow it’s demands and put on a brave face
For I know, should I confess and give justice to the prisoner
He may well make irreversible changes.

One cold day in November the prisoner had me in checkmate
And it slipped
As I let a single tear drip
Now the truth is out and roaming
And there’s no possibility that the prisoner will be returning.

 

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Truth

Ruby Rose (Yr 10)

Whispers lurk within the trees,
Masquerade as fallen leaves
Attending to your every fear,
You shudder as they become clear.
Enveloping you with a chilling mist
You don’t even want to exist.
Doubt excluding from every pore,
You loathe yourself to your very core.

But then suddenly, from the gloom
Rises up a single bloom
A tiny ray of hope that shines
Your feelings still all intertwined,
However, let go all the lies and fear
Only hold on to what is dear,
No need to be shackled without a key,
Finally, the truth will set you free.