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The Year 10 Poets of OAC

Posted on September 15, 2022

Year 10 students have been creating poetry. They wrote a poem either giving their voice to an issue they care about or to offer an escape from reality. What fantastic examples of the talent we have at OAC!

Tread Softly by Matthew

Come, rest, feel warmed by these words
Allow them to place you in their immunity.
It is a safe outpost amongst the harsh storm
Use the words as a mighty shield for good harmony

In case you slip and stray from your path
And encounter the lurking beasts
Wrap yourself in this poem like a warm blanket.
In its safety, piece what must be pieced

Therefore this poem is for you.
Even the most joyous of souls endure winter
Until the drip drop of spring arrives and melts the suffocating ice
Like the welcome relief of withdrawing a splinter.

Allow the warmth of the sun to touch your shoulders
Opening yourself up to possibility’s embrace
Feel the weight of the earth's support beneath your feet
And the gentle breeze will guide you to your place

Untitled by Savannah

Didn’t realise the influence
But now its embedded in my brain
And the use it’s continuance
Even though it leaves me drained

Do I have an addiction?
Does it have to be like this?
I know it’s a bad subscription
I know I’m in a pit

But how do we change?
Turn our attention to the positive side?
We should use the internet and its influence for good
Because for too long it has been misapplied

We forget that living in an online society means that
We can be vocal
We can interact
We can be global
And have an impact

Untitled by Abbi

I can't control these movements
These tics these bumps and screams
I can’t control these voices
I say things and I don't know what it means

They tell me what to do
‘Stick your hand in the coffee’
‘Scream at the top of your lungs’
You may get annoyed but so do I

But this is me, and I may scream
So scream as I might,
And hit as I will
Please love me like I will too

I can’t handle your breathing
Your eating or drinking too
The crunch and the gargle
Just make me want to puke

Stacy is her “name”
She is the embodiment of my problems
screaming, yelling, hitting, punching
That's her thing not mine

I thought it’s the 21st century by Isabella

Why is it when girls are growing up they get told to cover up, so family members don’t stare, yet they have all to bare?

Why is it a woman can’t walk home in the dark, without feeling like a fish in a sea of sharks?

Why is it when you get told to toughen up, you need to grow balls, when a woman can literally create children the size of volleyballs?

Why is it misogyny exists? It’s because most men have called a woman a b****.

Why should women get less pay, even when she leads the way?

Why should young girls be scared of people who don't care?

Why are women only put on this planet to have kids, why can’t they just go out and live?

Everyone came from a woman, so why should we shame a woman?

Why aren’t men taught from a young age, why can’t men turn over a new page?

It’s not all men, we know, but how can we trust one when we just don't know.

A woman in a room full of men is in hell, but a man in a room of women is in heaven.

Why is it that if a man has multiple girls he's a hero, but if a woman has multiple men she's a zero?

Why do women get treated different when everyone is human?

Why do girls need to be careful when people should teach their sons not to be hurtful?

Why is it women need to be more strong, instead of men getting told what's right and wrong?

Women's rights shouldn’t exist as there should be no need. But unfortunately we live in a world full of greed.

I thought it’s the 21st century

Old Sunny Days by Lila

Warm sun, warm fields

Tell me something from long ago, something of love and dance.

That makes the heart glow.

Bright birds full of song, and the wind plays along.

Clear sky, bright eyes, hope is the song I sing.

The bees buzz along, the flowers dancing to this song.

The trees sway and play.

Full of life you must say,

Full of life you had that day.

Where you sang a song of hope,

And I will forever dance with the trees and bees.

On that warm sunny day I will remember,

In the nights to come.

When the cold winds constrict my lungs,

I will remember when the fields grew and flew.

When the leaves of those playful trees would swim among those waters, In sweet relief,

And the wind that swung through all this art, remember, for

When the darkness closes in and you cannot find your way.

Remember the music of old that swayed.

The song that was sung on that warm sunny day.

Hindsight is Golden by Aida

Running to the gas heater
Bare feet on cold stone
Giggles and tickles
Pyjama pants outgrown

Hindsight is golden

Playing before our parents are up
Spreading toys across the floor
Wide-eyed whispered conversations
And heads poking through bedroom doors

Hindsight is golden

Riding our bikes down secret roads
Gleeful shouting echoing
Stray cats and merry sparrows
Leaking gutters pattering

Hindsight is golden

Marshmallows and cocoa
Pink noses and rosy cheeks
Christmas market lights
And a feast at home to eat

Hindsight is golden

Untitled by Branislav

Whose giraffe is that? I think I know.
Its owner is quite happy though.
Full of joy like a vivid rainbow,
I watch him laugh. I cry hello.

He gives his giraffe a shake,
and laughs until his belly aches.
The only other sound's the break,
of distant waves and birds awake.

After counting sheep,
the giraffe is asleep,
But he still has promises left to keep,
After cake and lots of sleep.

He rises from his gentle bed,
With thoughts of kittens in his head,
He eats his jam with lots of bread,
and leaves his shed,
Ready for the day ahead.

Red the colour of love and passion by Ash

The colour of red is like love and passion.
Like the assassin of people in the Crucible while listening to Linkin Park.
Titans wear a titan mark.
Warlocks wear a warlock bond,
I am very fond with what the warlocks look like
Hunters wear hunter capes,
Which is never a mistake.
The Crucible awaits.
Because “In the end it doesn’t even matter.”

My burning passion for Crucible burns bright.
Which is like daybreak that shines in the light.
Listening to Linkin Park makes it better.
It makes me feel warm as a sweater.
Chester helps with his music and his band.
My love for music overflows.
As I shoot the overload champion.

“Nobody can save me now.”
That is very foul.
“Only I can save me.”
I look in the deep dark cave.
And these things make me safe.

Untitled by Anonymous

As the cold wet grass sways between your stride,
Followed by the wind that brings life to the night.
Let the darkness excite you, let it carry you for the ride.
Now let the darkness proceed to the morning light.

The stars will light up, the moon will shine, let the cool air fill the fields,
Now you walk away from the distant town, the busy street and the concrete wall.
Start to run, start to move, see the vastness and the darkness as the lights of the sky are revealed.
Let the world and its problems fade into the past as you relax, breathe and let your body fall,
Into the surrounding as the buzzing Beatles sing their songs in the distant grass, so quiet, so small.

Now stop! Take a deep breath. Look up. Not at the lights that litter the sky but at the open endless space,
Breathe! You feel the wind swaying the grass, as the leaves twirl and spin as they fall through the air.
The sound of silence fills you as you look to the stars as you pick up your pace.
How can the world be so big with vast fields and open skies where we can breathe without care?

Sitting in the silence watching the stars that forever remain the same beaconing lights,
The crickets’ chirp is the only sound holding you to earth as the world moves and shifts.
The cold brittle wind flows past you as you sit and stare as the night sky slowly ignites.
The night sky is alive and moving around you as if to present you with the art of the stars as a gift.

Your mind starts to drift away from the field and away from the star scattered night sky.
The memories and dreams from your past and future rush back as you breathe the chilling breeze.
The peace, the beautiful peace that you feel now is rare; people fight for this peace that is in such short supply.
As the branches of the trees reach and swing while they sing the song of the wind with their leaves,
The grass sways and ripples as you feel the moving grass around you swell back and forth as a sea.

The Creek by Joel

A place where time is irrelevant,
and the trout can be found,
where humanity can make no dent,
and the red gums make no sound.

Where the air is fresh and crisp,
and the valley’s life-blood flows,
the creek chuckles and twists,
and the young harts drink slow.

The last light of day flickers like a
floodlight through the trees,
and the remnants of birdsong
are carried on the breeze.

A fox creeps as stealthily as the night,
and the wood ducks alarmed take to flight,
the mayflies soar in spiralling spins
and the eagles glide gracefully on lofty winds.

Australia by Rylan

We left on an adventure to see Australia
We have had fun so far and not a failure
Some long days on the road we have traveled
It’s been fun all the adventures that have unraveled

I love Australia

We cook our damper under the bright night stars
The only noise is the wildlife and no roaring cars
Red dirt sticks like glue
You need a long bath or two

I love Australia

This is a beautiful country that we all can enjoy
Snakes, spiders and sharks that will annoy
Trees, mountains, waterfalls and gorges
The sunset like wildfire in gorgeous

I love Australia

So get out and explore
You will want to do it more
Australia is a great place to be
Enjoy this country just like me

I love Australia

Image source: Diego/unsplash