THEME POETRY
NOVEMBER 2022 = VOICES OF TOMORROW
FUEL AND ELECTRIC CARS
AVC Mistry
6 Years Old
United Kingdom
Fuel cars go far and electric cars do too
Vehicles, vehicles
Why are they mixed?
Vehicles, vehicles
Why are they broken?
A bad planet is a sad planet too
Vehicles, vehicles
Why aren’t they fixed?
Vehicles, vehicles
Why aren’t we woken?
__________
​
HAVE YOU EVER TRIED
Anaiska Courtar
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
Running to the end of the world
Running past trees
Running through forests
Climbing hills that are steep
Wanting to fly with eagles
Wanting to swim with sharks
Wanting to swim the seven seas
But it’s way too hard
Running with lions
Climbing jungle trees
There’s real beauty
Seeing them running free
Running with the sunset
Sitting by a tree
Running is a journey
Running to the end of the world
__________
​
PEACE ISN’T SCARY – IT’S BEAUTIFUL!
Amani van der Camp
11 Years Old
Sint Maarten
Peace is a wonderful thing, but not everyone seems to like it. When it comes to being around people who look, seem or act differently than they do, many people are small-minded. They think others are bad when they simply are the way they were born. Maybe those people are straight-up naive or just want to protect their ego somehow. In my opinion, everybody should be accepted for who we are, what we love and what we look like.
Right now, I’m reading a book called Other Words for Home, about a Muslim girl who wears a head scarf and gets treated horribly after moving to America. That little girl and thousands of people like her deserve better. When I grow up, I want to live in a world where you can be accepted no matter your skin color, gender or looks and absolutely not treated like you did something terrible just for being unique!
__________
​
BLUE OCEAN
Andrea Hubert
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
My ocean used to be so blue
The scent of salt was fresh and new
My ocean now is gray and sad
The smell of trash makes her so mad
__________
​
PEACE
Jolin Xue
9 Years Old
Sint Maarten
Peace is calm and lovely
Every prize should be love and harmony
A sunflower is a beauty from nature
Cats purring like whispers
Endless breeze on the beach
__________
​
IN THIS POEM, NO ONE WANTS TO SEE ME
Aliyu Umar Muhammad
12 years old
Nigeria
In this broken piece,
I live to understand how poetry means /death - grief/ and / pain = beauty/
In this heavy cloud on my head,
No single soul caress at those nights revelation pours warmly on my bed
In this world alone,
No human lend you umbrella on those days poetry rain with shivers/ colds
Not in this world again,
Those who will turn to watch you die hand you a suicide note and pray you are happy
Sometimes, poetry is called madness at dawn, I still love to lock myself up to watch all alone
Because you will have to live alive when there's no one to see you drown in pain
In this lone poem where living hates the will to live
A man's finding of the seven layers of heaven, I look for its ladder in the inn-poetry
In all these lines where no one wishes to see my face,
I mount a journey through the mirror of poetry where faith/ hope is the last verse that join crevices between / life/ and / death/
In this poem, I believe poetry is now a home.
________
​
PINK TREES
Cecil Cone III
9 Years Old
Sint Maarten
Pink trees are so beautiful, so bright
They make love hearts in our eyes
Pink trees shine just like the Sun
Pink trees grow for everyone
_________
​
POEM
Ayaan Shahdadpuri
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
Stop the wars
We all need peace
Protect the environment
The trees that help us breathe
If we want to save the fish
We all better wish
No throwing plastic in the ocean
Please spread the love
That’s what the world needs more of
Thank you
_________
​
PEACE
Kjeld van der Meer
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
P eace begins with a smile.
E ternity is how long love will last
A nger is the ultimate enemy of your own peace
C eremony is the way we show our manners
E mpathy means showing love to people when they need it
_________
​
THE CHAINS OF TOMORROW
Daniella Clifton
12 years old
United Kingdom
Glossy paper against my fingernails,
The rustling sound of a
gossip magazine page
As the words fill up my brain
Drip,
Drip,
Drip!
Pointless words these are,
A tidal wave battling against the
gentle current of the important voices,
“What a scandal!”
“How to have the perfect body!”
“How to be more like her!”
Are these the voices of tomorrow?
Are these the currents that are going to drown us?
Are these the manipulative voices that
drip, drip, drip into our brains until we overflow?
Well, no.
We are not going down like this,
We are not going to be shackled by the media,
Telling us how to dress,
How to act,
And how to live.
We are going to stand,
And live by our own terms.
To have the strength to swim
against the raging tsunami of voices.
__________
​
CHIMERA
Parinaaz Bains
17 years old
India
The pathways oh so beautiful
The ones that were long forbidden.
Always strewn with roses.
Roses whose thorns were welcomed
for the masochistic pleasure
that is life.
But oh ! what ridicule
when the doors to heaven may open.
Heaven itself- the wonderful paradise
is but a vacant room.
Are the doors better closed?
__________
​
PEACE HAIKU
Luuk Vinke
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
The Caribbean
A beautiful place where Sun
Always shines in peace
__________
​
HUMANITY
Rohan Rinker
8 Years Old
Sint Maarten
Humanity is what brings us together
Us people sharing peace
Making ways to fit in with others
Able to love even while some are not so good with each other
Nobody is the same -- everybody has unique abilities
Individuals have their own thoughts and want their opinions respected
The feeling of waking up knowing you can control your life
Your parents deserve respect as they are the reason you are alive
__________
​
LOVE OF MY HEART
Evan Stankcov
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
I give love to my mom, dad, sister, my dog and myself
I give peace to my mom, dad, sister, my dog and myself
And love
___________
​
PLANTS
Anwar
7 years old
Brighton, UK
Beautiful, green plants,
They make me happy to see,
A mimosa pudica
Or a tall oak tree.
They need water and nutrients,
Don’t forget about the sun,
Watching them grow
For me is so much fun.
In Autumn they turn yellow like the sun,
The leaves fall off like big rain drops,
But soon they come back to life,
Their cycle never stops!
__________
​
LET IT COME
Bakare Ridwan Gbolahan
(legendbard Great)
Nigeria
Let the Rain fall from above
And wash away my inner suffering
stoke the fires
To ignite my fervent longing
Send plenty of breeze.
To blow off my worries into the thin air .
Send the moon and her rays
To guide me through my worst hours.
Send stars to Earth
to be my spouse and to heal my scars
Let the sun's beams
Bring me hope, and shine a light on my gloomy path.
Allow the dove's flapping wings .
strengthen my wings to fly
Allow the dunes to favor my travels.
Allowing the ocean waves shows me the realm of greatness .
For at this speed
Failure may roar like a lion might.
Nevertheless, the fight is certain of triumph.
__________
​
PEACE
Markus Hassell
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
People need love
End the wars
Add peace to this world
Cooperating with each other
Everyone needs peace
__________
​
THE ENVIRONMENT’S LOVE
Femia Scholten
10 Years Old
Sint Maarten
he Earth has given us so much
But what did we give back
The Earth has given us a place to live
A place with beautiful trees and lots to eat
Living here is such a treat
But what did we give back
When you look in the sea
You see trash
The Earth is getting a rash
The Earth is trying to heal
And we need to help that happen
__________
​
MR. RABBIT AND THE MISSING CARROTS
Kingsley
6 Years Old
United Kingdom
Mr Rabbit was a famous British Ninja. His weapons were unusual, he used carrots to fight! But not just normal carrots…
One day, Mr Rabbit had a disaster! He ran out of carrots. The only way Mr Rabbit could survive was to go to the shop and break the law.
_________
​
THE BIRTHDAY BLUES
Jessica Kwandou
15 Years Old
United States
EPIGRAPH: “Those who are young at heart may view the passage of time as an oppressor. When you're young, the loss of innocence is something to be celebrated, but it taints the truth when you're an adult. Thus, that realization is a necessary step toward ensuring your own self-preservation. The ups and downs of human existence can be compared to the four distinct seasons: summer, autumn, winter, and spring, altogether forming the ember days. This means that youth should consider how the beauty of essence might be best distilled.”
tick tock
tick tock
the clock strikes twelve
I.Æstas
Auspicious June seventh two thousand seven
The cake is on fire, flames embrace the soul from within
The candle burns as the heat swelters
Confetti falls from the sky like meteor showers
Flourishing in the same intricacy, pressed in the nature of exuberance
This balloon of excitement swells
Now, extravagance is the function of creation
But the candle is melting and my time is fleeting
A nightmare that makes my heart stop when our eyes meet
My day of birth is a hearty celebration of my mother’s pain and woe
Singing a song in lackluster harmony
I act like nothing is wrong, but the world is unfathomably imperiling
II. Autumnus
My summer is waning and fall befell upon me
Rude in its awakening
I have been lived by my starving youth
Milestones? Double digits?
I finally understood that we are moral creatures
Monsters living in the vision of the creator’s cruel world
A world of disappointment
A world of desperation
​
A world of unfulfilled goals and unattainable dreams
The thickets falter, sowing the air, so light and wild
They say, “Happy birthday. May your wishes come true.”
In reality, wishes can never become promises
III.Hiems
Looking at my distant future, restlessness winter dawns upon us
Another year twines away
Time accelerates
My heart holds the breath of youth
Not again so innocent
The pain of wisdom echoes in the beating of my chest
That thrum for the hands of fate that never stop the tick tock
The harvest is in
The freezing wind lifts my bones to the glide of a flying crow
Cooling fingers pierce under the litter of sweet alyssum
When all the days are gray days
The sun rises south
Orion is left open to the zenith of the night
Gone is the warmth of the summer sun
IV.Quatuor tempora ann
I lost a child’s ability to dream
Now a word is not spoken when time shatters at my feet
Hope flushes out of my sweltering tears
Bagaikan pungguk merindukan bulan, the owl yearns for the moon
The past is but a guest who came and went
No more looking ahead so I should be content
I am close to the finish line I say
Death shall find me ready
Free from the shackles of ember days
tick tock
tick tock
the clock strikes twelve
Another candle on the cake?
Will spring ever come?
​
​
​
NOVEMBER 2022 = WORDS OF WISDOM
FUTURE VOICES
Kathy Jo Bryant
United States
Voices of the past are fading
Now new voices are on the rise
Presently we need your voices
Opting to conceptualize
Future generations need us
To hold dear our destiny
Think it long and think it strong
Stand firmly like an old oak tree
What will happen if we dally
Waiting while the wrong decides?
Firm decisions we must tally
Save our future, turn the tides!
__________
​
WAIT
Najma Naseer Bhatti
Sindh.Pakistan
Listen to my secret
He is aware of my every sound
Every style and idea
What I see today is the same sound tomorrow
Everyone is suffering from heartache
This is the situation of my village
Every eye is full of tears, all are displaced from their homes
Everyone went to their ancestral home
Now everyone is just waiting for tomorrow
The words of gratitude on the tongue flowing from the eyes
All the lights of the calf, the children's voices, the laughter, all scattered
Now there are only traces left
I still look forward to tomorrow
When we will all be together again
Those houses will be inhabited again
There will be a spring of happiness in everyone's yard
Everyone will be with happiness in every sorrow
And I am still waiting for the same tomorrow.
__________
​
NO WATER
Julie A. Dickson
New Hampshire, USA
1
Tongue swollen, lips parched
to cracking, seeping blood
tastes like nourishment, nectar
in vast desert where thirst rules
2
Down cheek rolls a single tear,
lasts only a moment , contradicts
in minute size, a magnitude
of fear within large eyes
3
Murky puddle seems as gold, sought
after to drink, abate a need, diameter
of thirst grown past all warnings,
tainted pool will cause them ill
4
Dewdrop clings to overhung branch,
a miniature flood, finally splashes
to ground, sucked in, not enough
to drink, scarcely a taste
5
Lies a barren sea, expanse wide,
empty, no water found here,
long ago dried up, left dusty
teardrops, blank eyes of fish
__________
​
COME TOUCH HIS CHEEK
Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.
This child of mine you stare at so,
Please come closer so you will know
Just who my child is and what I see
when those sweet eyes stare back at me
I see no limits to my child’s life
Although I know
It will be filled with strife,
I’m hoping that doors will open each day
I’m praying that kindness
will come his way
You look frightened?
You tremble with fear?
Come, come closer
touch him my dear
Touch his cheek so soft
so sweet
Be one of those people
he needs to meet
Someone who will look
and hopefully see
The skill, the talent
The ability
Please come closer
You don’t have to speak
Come a little closer
Just touch his cheek
And when you do
you will see
He is no different
than you or me
__________
​
THE OLD MAN IN THE MIRROR
Nolo Segundo
You think it a lie, seeing that
Old man in the mirror—some
Imposter taking your name,
Living in your house, calling
Out to your wife as though
He had married her 40 years
Ago and not you… what can
The old fellow want of you,
You wonder, and would ask,
But your fear his laughter.
So you never speak with him,
And he runs the place just
As he sees fit: sleeping late,
Eating early, taking a nap
And going for brief walks
When you’d prefer a jog.
He also doesn’t care much
For taking those long drives
You love so much—too, too
Far away from comfy home.
A thousand carefree miles
Is but a dream to you,
While he shudders like
It’s climbing Mount Everest.
Worst of all, he is less
Patient with the myriad
Fools of the world—so
He’ll rant and rave
When clerks misbehave!
THE OLD MAN IN THE MIRROR
Nolo Segundo
You think it a lie, seeing that
Old man in the mirror—some
Imposter taking your name,
Living in your house, calling
Out to your wife as though
He had married her 40 years
Ago and not you… what can
The old fellow want of you,
You wonder, and would ask,
But your fear his laughter.
So you never speak with him,
And he runs the place just
As he sees fit: sleeping late,
Eating early, taking a nap
And going for brief walks
When you’d prefer a jog.
He also doesn’t care much
For taking those long drives
You love so much—too, too
Far away from comfy home.
A thousand carefree miles
Is but a dream to you,
While he shudders like
It’s climbing Mount Everest.
Worst of all, he is less
Patient with the myriad
Fools of the world—so
He’ll rant and rave
When clerks misbehave!
​
And his politics! Right
And right he feels,
Caring naught for the
Downtrodden masses.
Yet he is kinder than
You ever were, more
Thoughtful of others,
More giving, less taking.
He loves his friends and
Doesn’t screw women only
To leave them empty.
Best of all, the old man
Loves God—he won’t
See belief as a folly,
For he has learned
The real illusion is
Mortality, so knows
Death is a door,
And not a wall.
You could learn
From the old man
You share a life
With, but you won’t.
You are young—
What are God and
Death and endless
Soul to you?
__________
​
SOMEDAY
Carolyn Chilton Casas
United States
Sometimes in my daydream wanderings
I see into the far away future,
or possibly not so far away.
We never can know.
Another family lives here.
I see children playing
in the fields, climbing trees,
lobbing orchard fruit at one another,
like my children did so happily.
An inconvenient necessity—
these years scrolling by—
how everything morphs and changes,
comes to an end. And a new beginning
starts from there.
New hawks will hatch,
fly air currents over different heads
as they gather, as we do now,
to sit under a canopy of elm.
Perhaps they will appreciate
the hand-painted tiles I chose,
set carefully in the garden wall,
eat the fruit we planted—apricot, plum,
guava, fig, and pear.
There might be arguments,
maybe some cross words, but
then reconciliations under this roof.
I hope the words I love you
will be spoken often.
I want to be open to saying yes
to that sure thing, that fated
certainty of someday.
_________
​
SO SWEETLY
Pratibha Savani
United Kingdom
https://www.facebook.com/pratibhapoetryart
https://www.instagram.com/pratibhapoetryart/
So sweetly
I embrace her
So naturally it comes
Unconditional love
We bare as parents
We can't control ourselves
So beautifully
She speaks to me
In her little conversations
I'm there listening
How cutely she sounds
As my love deepens and grows
So elegantly
She role plays
On the phone
A mini adult
In the making
'A cup of tea for me?!'
'Oh thank you!'
As I watch her play
Interact
And love all the new things
She mimics gracefully
That she has learnt
__________
​
SCREWDRIVER MATHEMATICS
Carl “Papa” Palmer
Washington, USA
https://www.facebook.com/carlpapa.palmer.1
Lying up under the car
on the floor of my garage
I see his little feet arrive,
the shadow of his head
bending down to ask,
“Whattaya want, Dad?”
“Hand me that number two Phillips
on the workbench over there, son.”
I watch him switch his weight
from one little foot to the other,
step away, start back, stop,
turn around and then
scamper back to the car,
leaning lower to ask,
“Dad, is the Phillips a plus or a minus?”
__________
​
GO FORTH
Kassie J Runyan
New York, USA
​
Outside the house,
is there any other place
where you could go?
Across the street
that is paved with threats
and a life…
unknown.
Oh, my dear girl,
take a step outside.
You know the threats
live only in your head.
Oh, my brave girl,
one foot in front
and then the other.
Lift your head up high
and make your own damn path.
The unknown future
is the best part.
__________
Kassie J Runyan
New York, USA
the future is ours
to take
and make
…
or break
__________
​
Melanie Haagman
United Kingdom
Facebook.com/girlontheedge90
‘What is your superpower?’
Asked the little boy,
As he clutched on tightly
To his Spiderman toy.
‘To be kind always,’
Is what his teacher said,
But the young boy laughed
And shook his tiny head. ‘
That’s not a superpower,’
He replied with a certain tone, ‘
‘Yes it is, my little friend,
You’ll realise when you’re grown.’
This stuck with him forever,
Stayed cemented in his brain,
And now when his children ask
His answer is the same...