Ages 15-18 Years: Runner Up

Muntazir Jaffer (Age 16)

Category 15 – 18 years

Theme – Courageous Choices

Judges’ comments:

This poem told a story that made us sit back and think. It was original in its approach and used analogies that related to present-day life.

The Traveller

There once was a man, he travelled alone
He travelled as far as the sun shone
To his gadgets he was addicted, especially to his phone
But the road at one point split

The road at one point split and he was made to decide
Whether to go to wrong road, or on right avenue to reside,
He put down his belongings, left his phone aside
As he thought, he was torn apart inside
Then he got up

He got up and to distract himself tried,
For hours on end, his thoughts he defied,
But then at one point, his phone battery died,
And he was all alone

His instincts to all heights began to soar
But his conscience quickly brought him down to the floor
But all he could hear was his desires roar,
And it was deafening

He heard a small whisper, elegant and poised,
Telling him that empty vessels make the loudest noise,
And as your desire leads you to joys,
You must listen

Even thought Your conscience may be but a hum
You should listen to it -like the select some
So that in the afterlife – you’re not deemed dumb
And he listened

He listened attentively, to what this whisper had to say,
And he listened to it consistently, day after day
His conscience became a fire, having started as a ray
And he decided

He decided that right was the path to choose
If people chose wrong – they walked into their noose
And even though he was alone – he had nothing to loose
Because he was on right

This person is us, and the road is our life
The phone is distractions, through which one must strife
Our life is one that with vices is rife,
But sometimes we need to think

We need to think about the choices we make
We need to make them for us – not for people’s sake
Let our choices stand out – it’s a stand we must take!