Competition

Highly Commended

Bomber
by Violet Macdonald

He enters – seemingly normal,
Another face in a crowd of people,
Going to work
To the shops
To the movies.
He holds his suitcase calmly,
Just like all the rest around him,
Going to sport
To their home
To their friend’s house.
He whispers something softly
And then –
***

Highly Commended

Led to the Slaughter
by Hannah Roberts

Revenge for the past,
Politics, a fight for power –
And yes – the world is at war.

Young happy men,
Bright futures,
Stripped from their families
And friends
And led to slaughter.

Changed from simple country stockmen,
To tough worn war-heroes.
The qualities they gain
Outweighed by their pain
And for what?
Like lambs led to the slaughter.

The trenches, the battle fields,
Land is destroyed.

Worse than Mother Nature’s disasters
Like a tsunami of fear
Washing all hope away
Flooding men with an empty feeling
Or a fire
Burning hatred in the eyes of soldiers.

Returning home
A hero’s welcome
He tries to forget
Being led to the slaughter.

But while those memories may partially fade,
The scars will never leave.

Forever bestowed upon the men
Who were mercilessly
Led to the slaughter.

Highly Commended

Expectation
by Jacob Bond

A COLD EMPTY CHAIR
Sitting there
Day after day
Doing nothing
But waiting
For someone
To keep warm with.