Year 11 GCSE students were asked to write a poem in response to studying the Love and Relationships cluster for the English literature exam.
A flower blossoms in the winter.
The sharp cold December air is shunned by its warmth,
And as January strolls through drearily, its glow and beauty paints colours over the grey.
The rain fell inevitably,
Dampening and dulling it’s pastel petals.
But the morning sun broke through the clouds
It’s golden rays illuminate the beauty of its complexion.
And in February the birds began to sing,
Sweet tunes filled the air.
The blossom hung with penitence, but nature reclaimed its space
The stem dances closer to the clouds, braiding with blades of grass.
A flower blossoms in the winter.
It’s glow flickers in the dreary curtain of dark clouds.
But it never halts in growth, with the rainfall, the roots are ever strengthened.
By Emma 11M
Daffodils
She looks at herself in the mirror
Bright smile. Huge curly hair that bounces
As she strides. Around her eyes roll and people
Utter words of distaste and dislike which
She disregards. Narcissus, they call her.
Bright eyes, brown skin and a yellow dress that flows
In the wind. She admires herself. People
Glare and compare but she is complete
Words ricochet and reflect their self-doubt,
Insecure and unstable, they hope to silence her
Like echo. She has no right.
Did you ever hear the story, they asked her
Her self-absorption will lead you to you doom
But silence will make me disappear. Still,
She looks at herself in the mirror
Like a daffodil by the water
By Sajida 11R
Early Mourning in the Museum
You mustn't see me as
I lurk idly with the painted face
In the corner- taking up space.
Several steps away, you stand so free
Holding onto our emptiness so desperately
My cheeks let out a sigh
As I watched your eyes,
Turn away from mine.
An almost baleful blank canvas.
Till I saw the outline of your face;
Now I can’t erase.
The picture you took of the portrait
That hung crooked on the wall,
Contained a detail engraved
Ever so small.
Yet, you noticed that- but not my stare;
Blinded by the means of your affair.
I now know why
You mustn't see me
For it is true...
That I am covered with the mistakes,
Drawn out by you.
By Zaynab 11M
The dent you left in my bed faded within a day.
The warmth you brought in my room vanished with the coolness of your body.
The memories you crafted in my mind are now but a palimpsest of an old experience.
The smile you placed on my face was stolen by your selfishness.
Your heart - so still, so silent.
Your face - so cold, so calm.
And as I sit beside you and whisper words in your ear,
You ignore and chose not to respond.
Why did you leave me behind?
Do you not love me?
Do you not miss me?
Do you not crave the days
We used to laugh at the simple things in life,
And the nights we just lay awake and let the fire burn bright?
Why would you take that away from me?
From us?
Your selfishness is silent, yet violent.
And as every day goes by without you, I grow more and more numb.
What is left of us is just a void.
An emptiness.
A broken heart.
By Raya 11R
Anita and Ian
Life crawls
Quickly
like a timeless watch,
eating its hours
and savouring each saccharine tick of the
Clock.
With You I breathe,
in and out
of every memory
and forgotten regrets.
Prepare neatly our graves by the bed we slept on
for many rounds
around the sun
spent together
as one.
I still remember our meeting.
Painful was the bruise of not knowing you
Previously
But soon arms enfolded me
and the tender whisper spoke:
‘I will love you enough
To fill the empty space
On the bed
We share.’
By Biba 11C
I knew we were from different puzzles
So I tore myself apart trying to fit you
Started with the corners and ended in the middle
No matter how hard I looked there were always missing pieces
That was inescapable, and you’ve found a new puzzle
Now I make a beautiful and complete picture alone
By Pearl 11M