Our Poet Laureate for 2016-17 has been crowned at a special assembly. The outgoing holder of the post performed her last poem to celebrate the end of the school year.
The new incumbent was selected from a strong shortlist but impressed the selection panel with her poem ‘Rio’ and its nod to Kevin Crossley Holland. The winning poem is featured below.
Rio
I am Christ the Redeemer,
Below my feet stands my soul,
My heart
Founded on a landscape so beautiful my eyes can never rest.
Cream sand fades slowly,
Like a setting sun,
Like a note getting softer by every passing second,
Into blue, so deep, so pure.
Today my passion belongs to Carnival,
I watch as a bird flies above the carpet of colour…
I am a bird,
Free to roam the atmosphere,
But my vivid feathers led me here,
To soar above Carnival.
Seas of embellished colour frolic this way and that,
Cruising floats teem with chanting individuals,
Song pulses, alive for just one night,
Cheers are flung up to the sky,
Touching the echo of percussion.
I sing as I know the Olympics will be next,
My heart skips a beat as I imagine that glittering gold medal…
I am the glittering gold medal,
A drive to live victorious,
Tears of joy erupt from supporters,
Names are shrieked,
As confetti falls.
The whole country howls,
United as one.
The pressure is on,
Fingers are crossed,
Crowds upon crowds,
All like-minded strangers.
Take a breath,
Take your place,
This podium was built for you,
So own this moment,
Like a skier owns the snow,
You earned it.