Junior Secondary

She handed back my poem
with an A+++!
Judge’s Comment
A funny, clever poem about the art of writing a poem. Making strong use
of rhythm and rhyme, as well as humour, the poet has crafted a poem
which is pleasant to read and leaves the reader smiling. Well done.
Phoebe GAUL, 14
Dalby Christian College
DALBY QLD
The Watertank
I am the watertank,
hollow and dry from lack of rain;
emitting smells, foul and rank,
evidence of past suffering and pain.
Cracks and holes now are showing,
rusty brown patches label me “cursed”;
strength all gone – my supports are bowing,
symbolic of our outback’s thirst.
I am also the flooded plain,
creeks and rivers overflowing;
released at last from the strain,
as their volume keeps on growing.
I am the corrugated land
gouged by a watery knife;
‘til water trapped inside the sand
springs forth in exuberant life.
Judge’s Comment
A poem of contrasts – the drought and flooding rain which seem to
epitomise Australia. In the first stanza the poet explores drought through
the image of an empty water tank, rusting and smelling ‘symbolic of our
outback’s thirst’. In the second stanza, she presents a flooding plain,
‘gouged by a watery knife’ which finally leads to new ‘exuberant’ life. A
lovely poem.