John Betjeman.com

The winner: Jessica Thomas

The High Street

I turn my MP3 player up to
Try and drown out the sound of
Boys thumping against the bus windows
Bags of the many people –
Like immigrants on a journey to a new life –
Bash against my arm
I’m going to have a bruise there tomorrow
I feel the bus cough and splutter into life
Crisp packets and McDonald’s wrappers
Scatter just as their owners do
As the bus wheels rumble over the cracked black
tarmac
Through the window I can see
The takeaway shops and fast food
And/or Indian restaurants
One café, two café and half a dozen high-fashion
clothes shops
With frantic shoppers darting in-and-out
In the distance I can see the ruins of a great castle
A once proud protector rising from the ground
As a monument to preserve acts
Of sacrifice and bravery
Surrounded by beauty and ignorance
Litter and heroism
It’s going to be a long journey home.

The runner-up: Angela Maria Charalambous

Hellenic restaurant – Marylebone High Street

This is the place where I learnt to grow up,
Learnt to be myself,
And learnt how to make mistakes.

It is the place where I knew who I was,
Where I come from,
And where I want to go.

It was the place where I could see my future,
Hear laughter of a moment to come,
And was the place where I smelt the old and felt the new.

This place is somehow going to disappear,
Fade away,
Die out,
Somehow I don’t know what to do,
Don’t know where to start.

I doubt this place will ever be the same,
The place where I learnt to grow,
And where I learnt to make mistakes.

Highly commended: Katymay McGuire

The stage!!

As you walk through the doors,
You get attacked by lots of flashing lights
And everyone looks at you
It makes everyone feel happy.

Flashing from cameras
Claps and cheers
All the audience smiling from ear to ear.

The velvet stage curtains open
Bright lights on the centre stage
Music starts playing tunes that’s when to come on.

When you go on the stage
It feels massive like a cave entrance but it’s not really.

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