The Rotary Club of Lochaber

Poems & Essay

Rotary Poetry Competition, 2010

Category Primary Class 6 & 7

 

Winner: Grace MacIntosh, P7 Spean Bridge Primary School

 

The Night – Time Bird

 

As the final lights go out

The first sound that can be heard

Is a twit a twit a twew

Out comes the night-time bird.

 

She flaps her wings powerfully

But as silent as a mouse

She hunts for food for her baby

Who is in their barn roof house.

 

The stars are like diamonds

As she swoops through the sky

Looking down below

As she keeps a beady eye.

 

She hears a rustle in the grass

And swoops down to seize her prey

She grabs it in between her claws

And slyly flies away.

 

As she soars homeward bound

She sings twit a twit a twew

I’ve got some food for you

But as she gazes at her greedy son

She knows that her work is not yet done!

 Rotary Poetry Competition, 2010

Category Primary Class 4 & 5

 

Winner: Rosie Clark, P5 Banavie Primary School

 

Our Environment

 

Trees are growing on the Ben

We are supplied with eggs from hens

Birds are flying in the sky

Bushes are flowering just nearby.

 

There is lots of sun now the clouds are gone

The hills are what the sun’s shining on

On the mountains there is snow

On the slopes is where we go.

 

Deer are hiding in the heather

We are at school altogether

We are writing it’s quite hard

Drawing pictures on some card.

 

There are lots of pesky bugs

My Mum is waiting for lots of hugs

The oceans and rivers are the new ‘dump’

We are going to school now, hurry up.

 

Rabbits are bouncing in the field

We use an umbrella as a shield

From the howling wind and rain

Trust me now it is a pain.

Rotary Poetry Competition, 2010

Category Primary Class 4 & 5

 

Runner-up: Alexandra Willow McKeown

 

Environment!

 

The bees are buzzing high

The birds are flying in the sky

The beautiful sky is blue

The lambs are almost due.

 

It’s almost spring time

So everything should rhyme

Nothing should be dying out

Lochaber is a good place to look about.

 

There are mountains

Plus fountains

Never drop litter please

Or you will get stung by the buzzing bees.

 

There are things you should never do!

So you better think it through

Let’s tell people that it is fair

Let’s show the world that we care.

 

So let’s pick up this litter

So we will feel much better

The world will be a better place

So don’t break up the human race.

The winner of the Essay Competition:    Joey Baker, Mallaig High School

 

It was a battle against the Elements. The wind battered him with fists of steel. The cold suspended him with its frosty grip. And the rain pelted him with its icy spittle. Through gritted teeth he ran for shelter, but the beastly shadow was quicker. It loomed over him, like a Walrus above an unsuspecting Seal pup, isolating him from cover.

 

His name was Jack, a tourist from Scotland, and this was the last thing he needed when he went on holiday. He wore a Nike tracksuit and a white t-shirt, which was about as appropriate in this weather as Pyjamas at a wedding ceremony. His long brown curls danced on the top of his head, as if brought to life by the gale. His piercing blue eyes shot around in a frenzy, looking for something, anything, that might lessen his distress.

 

He was scared. He had heard rumours, but had thought nothing of them. Now Jack knew he should have listened. He could just see it on the horizon, over the water. It was a ghostly froth growing bigger by the second. Jack strained his ears over the constant howl of the weather, hearing a far off roar like no other, resembling the king of the jungle, seeing who dared to stand in his path.

 

The storm was raging now. Whipping up anything separated from the ground. Jack was in pieces, being thrown around like an ant in a washing machine. But still he fought back, clinging to a road sign for support. The boy dropped to the floor, crawling through mud and gunk to the nearest building. Jack could feel his heart in his chest, pounding out of its socket. “HELP!” He screamed, but his words were batted aside by the wind, as easily as an irritating fly.

 

Jack looked over his shoulder, still crawling towards the building. The ghostly froth on the horizon was no longer a ghostly froth. It had evolved into a wave, a big wave, a tsunami, and it was getting closer. Panic ignited in Jack, spurring him on. It was now a race against time. He had to reach high ground, or else death would be inevitable!

 

If Jack’s friends could see him now, they wouldn’t know who he was. Caked from head to toe in dirt, a deep frown scarring his face and his hair a swirling wreak on his head. Any small child would think he was the Bogey Monster. Jack hauled himself to his feet, gasping for air, tired out of his wits, but there was no time for rest. The door to the house he was next to was open. It flapped crazily in the wind, faster than humming bird wings, dangerously fast, almost coming off its hinges. Without thinking twice, Jack carelessly flung himself into the building, smacking his hip off the door.

 

Blood poured out of the gash, the pain was immense. It left Jack screaming, cursing and swearing for his ignorance. He pounded the floor of the building with his fists, scraping his knuckles. Sweat and tears dripped from his face, and his soaked clothes left him sitting in a puddle. “Arhhhh.” Cried  Jack, lying on the ground, feeling like a child again. Suddenly a young boy ran down the stairs by Jack, dragging a black cloth behind him.

The boy was dark skinned, small and skinny, with black hair like the night sky and a sparkle in his eye. His only clothes were a vest several sizes too big for him and tattered green shorts. He sprung to Jack’s side like a lemur, and nimbly started wrapping the black cloth around Jack’s wound, applying as much pressure as possible. He helped Jack to his feet, talking quickly in a strange foreign language. The pair made to the bottom of the stairs, but then the small boy stopped in his tracks. There was a rumble then an almighty clash, as intense as the symbols in an orchestra. The tsunami was here.

 

Jack ignored the sting in his hip and hobbled up the stairs with the help of the boy, his thoughts a blur. They got to the top not a moment too soon, as the room below started to fill with water. Jack’s head was burning, he needed rest, he thought he might faint. The boy directed Jack to a roof window, no sooner had Jack looked up a muscular arm came down, grabbing Jack by the scruff of the neck and lifting him through the window with more ease than a feather. Jack lay on the roof, and looked down at the chaos below.

 

 The wave tore down anything and everything that stood in its way. A car spun down the road, being ripped to pieces with no more difficulty than a child would have destroying a ragdoll. It wasn’t clear water. It was disgusting murky brown, not something you would like to get caught up in. Buildings were falling, and everyone was at the water’s mercy. It was a spectacular sight, a wonder of Nature. Jack looked along the roof. Whole families must be up here, he thought. The man who helped him onto the roof was hugging the boy, arms right around him like a big, protective bear. Jack smiled with relief, then his head rolled back, and he fell into a deep, deep sleep.