Competition

Highly Commended

Ned Kelly
by James MacDougall
Eastern Heights, Qld

Once there was an outlaw,
Ned Kelly was his name
Each person that he murdered,
Only bought him more fame

One day a reward was offered,
Five hundred pounds on Ned
The sign simply stated,
WANTED - alive or dead

Dan Kelly & Steve Hart,
Joe Byrne joined the gang
They all knew the price to join,
The thought that you could hang

After the shootup at Glenrowan Inn,
All the gang was dead
Joe Byrne, Steve Hart & Dan Kelly,
All except for Ned

Ned was found that morning,
Trying to save his gang
He was trialed by fair judges,
They sentenced him to hang

They took him to Melbourne jail,
To his neck the noose was tied
And now you know the story
Of how Ned Kelly died

Highly Commended

The Dream Worlds
by Emma Latham
Booval, Qld

Count the stars you see at night like tiny crystals in the sky,
each one a symbol of another world unlike anything
around you, where creatures strange and wonderful hide.
Some you may have seen before, maybe in a dream.
For as you dream your soul does wander, across the path
dimly light, that connects each world to each other.

So many things we can learn from our dreams!
There are hidden messages about past and future.
Or maybe your dreams are a way to escape the harshness of
your own world. Where you can climb high mountains and
tame fierce dragons.

Magical things are in our world too,
although not as obvious as in our dreams.
Look around you,
the flowers gently opening,
the sun dancing on dewy grass,
the water in the stream sparkling as clear as glass.
It's the simple magic like this your friends and family can
enjoy with you and that is what makes life worth living.

And so when I dream it is always a pleasure
to wake and live another day.
Unless it is Thursday and we have a math test.
I hate math tests!

Highly Commended

Time of Your Life
by Caitlin Stark
Middle Park, Qld

Why do they say when a teenager, they're the best years of your life.
I find myself in constant battle, and always in great strife.

My face is like a carpet speckled with coloured flecks.
A daily wash in liquid sandpaper couldn't help this blight of specks.

Then there's the glasses to consider, oh my genes I do dislike.
Why is it I'm related to people with such poor sight?

My nightmare doesn't end there I'm as deaf as deaf can be.
I wear two hearing aids for the entire world to see.

If this were not enough to contend with, life wouldn't be complete.
Now at the age of twelve, I have braces on my teeth.

Then there's the "hormone plight" all we girls must endure.
So how could you say our teenage years are the best for sure?

So tell me, if what you say of teenage years is true.
Why is it, please tell me, that I am feeling blue.