'A perceptive and shocking account of the plight of refugees' has won a poetry prize judged by the family of William Wordsworth.
Deep Waters by 12-year-old Mayumi Singh is the winner of the Rydal Mount poetry prize for young people, organised annually by the poet’s descendants.
It describes the terrifying and tragic journey of refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to safety.
One of the judges, Christopher Wordsworth, William’s great great great great grandson, said that Mayumi’s poem showed a deep concern for and understanding of the world around her.
“It is very, very sad, but beautifully expressed,” he said.
The competition, now in its sixth year, attracted nearly 200 entries this time. Awards were presented at Rydal Mount near Ambleside, where Wordsworth lived for most of his life.
Mayumi, a pupil at Windermere School, lives at Whitehaven and comes from an international background - her father is from India and her mother from Malaysia.
English teacher Lucy Baker said: “Mayumi is only Year 7 but she is a very serious thinker and has tremendous general knowledge. She is interested in international affairs and wrote the poem after hearing her father talk about the plight of the Syrian refugees.”
The theme of Deep Waters was chosen by the Wordsworth family, and attracted a wide range of interpretations. Along with Mayumi’s “overall winner” title, other awards went to:
Senior school winner: Harriet Rush - Windermere School
Senior school commended:
Shree Bhattacharjee - Bradford Grammar School
Libby Danby - Keswick School
Rowenna Hamilton - Windermere School
Juniors:
Winner: James Leech Sanders - Grasmere Primary
Commended:
Connor Little - Bewcastle Primary
Cecilia Kelly - Coniston Primary
Lily Lloyd - Flookburgh Primary
Seb Mason - Dean Primary
Woody Leece - Dean Primary
Holly Engleby - Ambleside Primary
Sam Arundale - Grasmere Primary
Thomas Metcalfe - Coniston Primary (the youngest, just six)
The winning poem
Deep Waters
A boat. Waiting. 10pm. The sound of silence.
A line of people. Terrified. They get onto the boat. Some with lifejackets, others without.
They might not survive.
But they want to escape from the place that was once filled with laughter and happiness,
that they once called ‘home’.
Away.
The captain starts sailing. It’s pitch black. All is calm but all is not bright.
The children’s eyes are filled with desperation.
They remember the days when their dreams were filled wonder.
All they can dream about now is their horrified mother screaming.
The journey takes a turn for the worse. A storm is heading their way. The waves become bigger.
The tension rises. The captain tries to divert. The people are terrified.
They are clinging onto the helpless boat. The boat turtles, children scream, mothers cling onto their precious babies.
They are in the middle of the empty Mediterranean Ocean.
No hope. They go in deeper into the water.
Deeper and deeper and deeper.
Till all we can see is a little girl’s doll. Floating away.
Mayumi Singh, Aged 12, Windermere School
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