Andrew Aitken-Fincham – (Year 13, St Andrew's College, Christchurch) Madeline She shows me her brand new skirt Sie zeigt mir ihren neuen Rock She loves the colour of the theatre lights She loves to practise her lines Alone With plastic actors and dollar bills The blondest brunette She rolls up every breath As if it...

Chaturika Jayasinghe – (Year 12, St Cuthbert’s College, Auckland) Thumb – luv ‘I, txt jnky,       tk u;>;->             2 b my lwfly wded                   txt m8.                         2 hv & 2 hld, :‑X                               Frm dis fne 2 da nxt,                                     4 top ups & 4 no crdit;                                           ,n poor sgnl & free air tym, *<):0)                                                 2 txt & 2...

Alisha Vara – (Year 13, Rangi Ruru Girls' School, Christchurch) lifetime(s) the man who knew my parents but didn’t know we were vegetarian caught us a fish. we laid it down in the garage, glistening, lucid, a sea animal dressed up as land. it was wrapped in newspaper, one eye gazing vacantly, the other, bloodied,...

Category judge Jenny Bornholdt commented: 'I chose 12 poems to highly commend. These poems all stood out as being written by people who'd thought about language and were attempting to use it in interesting and imaginative ways. Some of them were a bit uneven – they had fantastic bits, but then conked out somewhere along...

Highly Commended Miranda Cossar, Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland: ‘I Used to Wonder' Rex Cullen, Lawrence Area School, Otago: '10 to None' Pramudie Giunaratne, Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland: 'Inamorato' Lexie Hughes, Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland: ‘Friday and the Problems Flowers Present' Jenna Kerley, Wairoa College, Wairoa: ‘Summer Lunch' Allison Tang, Epsom Girls Grammar...

Graeme Ninness – (Year 12, Awatapu College, Palmerston North) A Universe in my Head Have you seen the Eyzrian land  With carpet’d hills of golden snow The thorngrass plains flow to the sand Where Ranweck’s marble spires grow Have you seen the province of Eyzria? It is hilly and has gold-coloured snow There are large...

Jennifer Niven – (Year 13, Samuel Marsden Collegiate, Wellington) Life Cycles I found a foetus in my egg A fleshy body slopped into the bowl Where a fat yellow yolk should have been No sunny side for this guy What’s up with you said dad Period pain I said and went outside To sit on...

Laura Lincoln – (Yr 12, Karamu High School, Hastings) So here we are What’s a few men              who throw their arms around me                          when you are not here                                      to connect my dots Tell me you need me             I’m losing my touch                       playing snakes and ladders                                  on the back of...

Lilian Yong – (Year 12, Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland) Cellar Door This is the Age, you say, and elbows send the bitter cup that scrunches your eyes and shrivels your cheeks into a precarious tilt. (You said that it would grow on you.) Oh, I say, your excitement not catching. Things are still, stagnant....