Made by Serif
© 2010 Ocean & Coastal Care Initiatives
© 2007 Ocean & Coastal Care Initiatives
Following the April school holidays, OCCI circulated information to local schools about the Schools and Community Whale Poetry Competition for 2008. This competition was run in conjunction with the Whale Dreamers Festival, which is also sponsored by OCCI.
99 entries were received, with 6 local schools participating. Winning entries were announced on 29th June, where some were performed at the Whale Celebrations at Copacabana by national champion Bush Poet, Peter Mace. Gosford Council provided this year’s prizes.
This was the second such competition that OCCI has facilitated, the first being two years ago in 2006, once again, in conjunction with the Whale Dreamers Festival. It is the first time that the competition was open to the community as well as the schools.
Thank you to all those who entered. Keep on writing!
WINNING ENTRIES FOR THE 2008 WHALE POETRY COMPETITION
Community Section
FIRST PRIZE
‘Whale Tails’ by Karen Rose of Terrigal
Vast distances they roam
The ocean their home
Haunting tunes echo through the depths
Seeking
Searching –
Friend or foe to answer?
Songs are returned
Life begins …..
Treacherous seas greet them
Chunks of ice surround
Icy winds whip their faces
Eyes intent
Seeking
Searching –
“There she blows!” comes the call
Hearts pound, waiting for the moment
Harpoons fly but miss
Again they try – this time success
Flurry of activity – pull, winch, haul
Cut, slice, store
Money has been made.
Leaving the dock they begin
The thrill of their lifetime
Excitement increases
Eyes wide with anticipation
Seeking
Searching –
A small pod is spotted
Playing, frolicking
Flurry of activity –
Cameras at the ready
Clicking, snapping, shooting
Surfacing, breaching, diving
Memories to share.
Far south they travel
Their purpose is clear
Ignoring the anger, the condemnation
Seeking
Searching -
Target tracked, now spotted
Movements anticipated
Flurry of activity -
Blood red is the water
Tails thrash, pain insurmountable
Life ebbs away
Just a carcass -
Research to be done.
Where is it?
Strange creature of the deep
Largest animal ever to have lived
Eyes wandering
Seeking
Searching -
It is found!
Bony skeleton assembled and displayed
Humans observe, still to the core
Standing, talking, whispering
In awe
All have gone
Lost to us all.
Our interference -
The cause of it all.
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SECOND PRIZE
‘ Whale Of A Sight’ by Dick Aubrey of Gorokan
The day I first saw you swimming by,
King Neptune had all but taught to fly.
Even though you were here so briefly
You touched my heart so sweetly.
A million times I’ve thought of you,
It’s a shame you are so few.
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THIRD PRIZE
‘Whale Watching’ by Robyn Aitken of Tuggerawong
Anticipation is absorbed in the gentle rolling of the boat,
Eagerly scanning the horizon for the precious spout,
The first glimpse is what exhilaration is all about,
An explosive thrust breaking the water,
Exposing a barnacle-
The sheer enormity, deep dark eyes that hold your gaze,
This awesome creature that never ceases to amaze,
Rolling and lurching and waving their tail,
Are the antics of our lovable whale.
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Schools Section 10 finalists
‘What Is A Whale?’ by India Kidd, age 8, Copacabana Public School
A whale is not as small as us.
Most whales are bigger than a bus!
A whale is not like a fish in the sea.
A whale breathes air like you and me.
A whale can’t walk upon the ground.
A whale must swim to get around.
A whale is a mammal just like me.
But its home is in the deep blue sea.
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‘Whales’ by Andrew Oak, age 8, Central Coast Grammar School
Mother and baby chasing krill
They splash on surface for a moment of play
The whalers have seen them and move in for the kill
The whales hear them and swim away
Leaving the ocean calm and still.
*******************************
‘Whales’ by Jamie Cauntier-
Once I saw a whale in the sea
It blew its blowhole at me.
Then splashed its tail
And made a wail.
It did a flip in the air
And gave me a glare.
It was big and long
And sang a whale song.
It was big and blue
A bit smaller than you.
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‘Leaping Shadows’ by Ben Roberts, Year 12, Wyong Public School
The water was smooth
Unbroken by the wind
Blue as a sapphire
Ever so deep
Soon came a giant
Black in the water
Ripping the sea
To reach for the sky
It burst from the ocean
Starting to fly
Falling to the sea
Ready to dance
It danced to the deep
As the water turned smooth
Singing its song
A call to the wild.
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‘Dance Of The Whales’ by Daniel Sheath, age 12, Wyong Public School
The water was calm until it was broken,
broken.
Smote like the sun by a cloud.
The whale erupted from the water.
It danced,
danced and waltzed with the water,
twisting and turning in joy.
It began to sing
not a song but a call
of joy and of laughter.
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‘The Humpback Whale’ by Nerissa Stitt, age 12, Wyong Public School
The sun is shining
Whilst whales are diving.
A hump on their backs
Defines all their tracks.
They breach through the air
Everyone there in shock they stare.
Their colours: black and white,
A breathtaking sight.
A beautiful whale
Should not be for sale.
*****************************
‘Whales’ by Brooke Jackson, age 12, Brooke Avenue Primary School
As I watch the deep blue sea
Wondering what lies beneath,
A strange voice sings aloud
And leaps out of the ocean.
Its eyes glare in the sunlight
As it feels the freedom up above
Slamming down with a big splash
With a fountain of water to follow,
As it glides off into the clearness.
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‘Whales’ by Corey Burnett, age 12, Brooke Avenue Primary School
One word to describe whales,
Beautiful!
Their barnacle-
Like thousands of blunt teeth.
As I watch them sing in unison,
Bubbles burst from me.
I am a diver.
I swim to the surface.
A tail with a fin the size of my couch
Lifts itself high in the air
And comes down with a smack.
Sounds a bit like a wet fish
Hitting concrete.
Gliding along the floor
Like a deep-
Their fins spread like wings.
That’s the life for me.
I stick myself in a blowhole.
The whale it belongs to lets out a moan.
With a roar like trumpets
He blows me out.
I fly so high I can see my house.
I wish I could be like a whale.
But I’m not.
That’s right – I’m only a kid
Stuck in this hot, stuffy room
With a cool imagination.
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‘Mystery Whale’ by Hayley Morgan, age 12, Brooke Avenue Primary School
I stare into the blueness …
Wondering what lies beyond the world of existence
I hear a splash, a moan ….
A mysterious creature.
With a body so great and massive,
It makes a human look like an ant.
And sparkles like glitter,
In its tiny, leering eyes.
As it slams against the water,
It makes an almighty splash,
And it swims off with its pod,
Never to be seen again.
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‘Warden Of The Deep’ by Emma Dell, age 11, Brooke Avenue Primary School
In the tresses of Poisidon’s mane,
Through languidly billowing gyres of wet,
The whale, warden of the deep
Doth pursue giddiness, through ambling rolls,
Hollering in tenor, belching thrums.
In boisterous frolic, breaching arcs abundant,
Jarring through the placid, mellow zephyrs,
Drawling in garrulous symphonies.
Flanked by battalions of fish,
Pulsing around its mass.
But strife never has mercy,
Never abates,
Never deserts.
The ruthless hunter transfigured the tides,
As a floating hunk of abnormal driftwood,
With a hull,
A mast,
A harpoon….
In throes so dire,
The whale, the warden of the deep,
Doth look eloquently into the sinuous depths
Of water ….
Of memories …
Of death.
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