2017 – Ages 7-10 Years : Runner Up
Zaynab Valji (Age 8)
Theme – A Beautiful Blessing of Allah
Judges’ comments: A poem that grabbed us from the first word with its strong imagery. The poet chose a specific theme and then developed it fully, taking us from an outward appreciation to an inward realisation of our own attitude towards Allah (SWT)’s Blessings.
Ear-splitting cracks of thunder echo,
Gigantic waves crash,
Spine-chilling winds blow,
Shards of lightening flash
The grey clouds hang grim and dense,
Waves snarl and hiss,
Then, silence….
All is returned to peaceful bliss
Oceans breathtaking and vast,
Stretching out before you
Waves rippling past,
Sparkling in azure blue
Dolphins dive and leap,
Shafts of sunlight shimmer
Fish submerge into the deep,
As the fireball’s rays grow dimmer
Who created these life-giving oceans and seas,
Filled with mesmerising beauty?
Who sustains vibrant coral reefs,
Bursting with diversity?
But why are the fish slowly decreasing,
Seas polluted with oil and tar?
Why is the plastic quickly increasing,
Rubbish rising from afar?
Garbage piled up in heaps,
Suffocating marine animals cruelly
They finally give in to eternal sleep,
Floating away silently
If seas are a blessing from our Creator,
We must use, but not abuse,
For Allah gifted seas to us as a treasure,
So we must look after them for His pleasure
We overlook the damage that we’ve done,
Neath the glistening waves,
The sea so deep covers the destruction,
Concealing it under a layer of perfection
We ignore the sea’s plea,
We brush aside her beseeching cry,
For we don’t want to modify
Our materialistic way of life