a picture of my brother
By Jana (Year 3, Wollongong West Public School, 2018)
It is sad. Like flower in winter it is white it is blue. Like a cloudy sky in my heart. It breaks when I see it. It reminds me of Egypt, friends, hot weather, prayer mats. He is so cute like a red rose. --- This poem was awarded First Place (Primary) for Poetry Object 2018 Judge's notes: ‘a picture of my brother’ is an understated and gorgeous piece of writing. This poem stood out for its unusual and unexpected similes—the picture is likened to a ‘flower in winter’ and ‘a cloudy / sky in my heart’—and wonderful use of enjambment, which gives the sense that the poem itself is a picture constantly unfolding before the reader. Most compelling is the way in which the chosen object becomes a way to evoke, with remarkable economy and emotional complexity, all that it stands in for: memories, a missing loved one, a missed home (‘Egypt, friends, hot / weather, prayer mats’); feelings of loss and distance and sorrow. ~ Bella Li, Judge, Poetry Object 2018 Watch our Poetry Object 2018 Winning Poems Animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvzpzwhQsx8
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