Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
An emerald dagger of nature, a pine, proud and tall.
An entity of potential, destined to fall,
Stripped, sliced and sawn, logs upon a fire.
Sawdust, woodchip, pulp or just a warmth provider.
As his needles quiver in the wind,
He wonders what he would be.
He sees a million opportunities after his life of being a tree.
Line upon line of printed information,
Politics and tragedies grapple for the front page,
Waffle and gossip jotted here and there,
Who has collected the coolest car or earned the biggest wage?
Quotes, articles and reports, ignored, thumbed and skip-read,
Underlined, crossed out in biro, or even in old-fashioned lead.
Gazed upon with inquisitive eyes, encouraging a squint, smile or frown.
What will be his next journey? But for now he is folded and put down.
A liner under guinea pigs’ bedding, before on his journey once more.
Into the compost heap he goes, along with a comic on Thor.
Teabags, grass cuttings, mulch and scraps,
Companions through day and night, decomposing together.
Not a pretty sight!
Lifted, shoveled, spread on the ground,
Now a life force through a sapling’s roots
Entwining round his body of nutrients and up to the heavens she shoots.
An emerald dagger of nature, a pine, proud and tall.
An entity of potential, destined to fall.
James Wyatt (aged 10)
Kilmersdon School
2nd Prize 10-12 category