Runner Up In A Poetry Competition!?!? + My Winning Entry 🤣

Although I am meant to be a writer, right now I have no words to describe my feelings. Instead I will enlist the ever helpful services of emojis and allow them to do what they do worst best: capture my feelings.

🤣🤣🤣

Imperfection.

Okay, I suppose you get the point. When I heard the news my face went through a progression of successive phases: 🙂 (small, disbelieving smile) ☺️ (large ‘oh my goodness, this is REAL’ smile) 😃 (‘Wow. Wow. I’m in shock, but so happyyyyy’ smile/laugh/scream) 😆 (‘I think I might hyperventilate’ scream/laugh) 🤣 (My ‘action’ scream. *jumps up and down*)🤗 (‘Hey, everybody! I nearly won’ wave) 😊 (I’m so content right now, but so tired. That took effort’ smile).

Hey wait! Was I actually funny there??? *gasps* Gracie, the deadly serious world-change advocate, ‘light in the darkness’? Funny? Ha, I don’t think so. 😉

Okay, enough rambling (although I did quite enjoy that). My posts are usually so well thought out and heavily edited. Written and re-written. I guess this one makes a change. Do you think it could be the excitement in the air? *wafts hand around dreamily* *rolls eyes*

Basically I entered Small but Mighty Writers poetry competition and I was placed as a runner-up! I would like to share with you all my winning piece, the judge’s comments (!) and the story behind the poem.

Here goes:

Defiance On The Wall by Gracie Chick. Dedicated to Wesley Binks*

Remnants of rebellion, echoes still alive
Whispers of a tragedy, carried on the tide
A life lived lonely, lost in a world,
of bitterness, misery, where storms of anger swirl.

A stand against society, defiance on the wall
These words scrawled on concrete, they represent us all
However careless and however cruel,
these words come from a heart that’s torn
It could be mine or it could be yours…

A little soul that wants to care,
But whom’s existence is locked in despair.
No means of escape, no hope to be seen.
No light in sight, no room for dreams.

*more on him later…..

Here’s what the judges had to say about Defiance On The Wall:

Your poem was beautifully written and you used such varied and wonderfully formed vocabulary to really create a strong theme and development throughout. Your rhymes were perfect and not overly used which is often the case. We received a lot of entries and your poem really stood out for us so you should be so proud of yourself. 

Now for the beautiful story behind this poem:

During the summer I really got into these auto-biographical books by an author named James Herriot who was a vet in a Yorkshire town in the 1930s. He shared a story about a boy he once knew and it very nearly broke my heart, but (before it cracked right in two) it also inspired me to write this poem. I’ll just go die now, okay??? See ya. XD

The story was about a young lad called Wesley Binks. He came from a rough part of town and was real trouble, his parents were alcoholics and unemployed and he was pretty much neglected for his entire childhood. He was a big nuisance, playing nasty tricks and stealing stuff, just being a bad kid. No one loved him. 

One day this boy goes into the vet’s surgery with a little dog. Obviously the vet is a little wary of him – knowing his reputation – but he checks the dog over anyway. Upon inspection, I turns out that the poor animal is quite seriously ill. 

Over the next few weeks Wesley is a changed boy, he works hard and is focused on earning the money to pay the vet’s bills and for medicine and special food. He’s kind and respectful and people begin to like him.

The vet does all he can, but the dog does, sadly, pass away. And something in Wesley dies too, maybe it’s hope, maybe it’s his faith in the world. Who knows? Anyways he goes back to his old self, except much worse. He steals cars and gets sent to juvenile prison. No one really knows what happens to him after that.

Years later the vet is speaking to the local policeman, Wesley Binks comes up in the conversation. The policeman makes a remark that went something like this ‘That Wesley Binks was a bad boy, never loved no living thing in his life.’ And the vet thinks about it for a moment and replies ‘I reckon you’re wrong, Mr so-and-so, there was one thing he loved alright…’

So yeah, that’s where the inspiration originates from. This poem (and win!!!) is dedicated to Wesley Binks and all other kids like him. Let them find hope….somewhere…somehow…😐🕯️🕯️🕯️

(Is your heart broken or what!?) Let me know…