Poetry contest entries

Poem collection

LIMERICK - The Joys of Procrastination

There once was a person named James

Who really can’t stop playing games

He played too much

Left his homework untouched

So James’ marks went down in flames

FREE VERSE - I Love Hot Showers

There’s nothing more useful than a hot shower.

When your mom, your alarm clock AND your cat

can't make the grogginess go away

A hot shower can.

Indeed, hot showers are the most useful thing on earth.

There's nothing more pleasant than a hot shower.

When you come home after school, body full of sweat

A hot shower can make you relax.

Indeed, hot showers are the most enjoyable thing on earth.

There's nothing more philosophical than a hot shower.

When you crave a healthy dose of philosophy in your uneventful day

A hot shower can fix that.

Indeed, hot showers are the most philosophical thing on earth.

There's nothing more creative than a hot shower.

When you creativity juices run out and you are doomed

To hand in THAT project late

A hot shower can fix that.

Indeed, there is nothing that can save your butt like a hot shower.

HAIKU - Snowfall

Snow on the mountain

A magnificent vista

Peaceful till it falls

FREE VERSE - How to Care for a Lavender Plant

Here are some simple steps to make sure you can’t

Possibly mess up your very own lavender plant.

Step one:

The Lavender needs good music

many hours a day

This doesn’t include my favourite Bieber

much to my dismay

Step two:

Stuff the plant with lots of good food

like sour candies

Or it will become grumpy and bitter

like my grannies

Step three:

Love the Lavender with all your heart

Not too little and not too much

This cares for the plant’s mental health

So it won’t wither away and such.

Make sure to follow these instructions

So you can plant away without obstructions

HAIKU - little brothers

My little brothers

Residential noise-makers

Oh please be quiet

FREE VERSE - Freedom?

Off with the wind I go, away from the comfort of home.

To travel the “real world,” where parents have no control.

It is exhilarating, but at the same time, unnerving

To first time feel truly on my own.

FREE VERSE - Does it matter

An galaxy, and an atom.

The difference seems obviously

One is big, and one is small.

But look again

Is it really different?

Many will still argue, yes

Of course it is

But in the face of the universe

Does it really matter?

FREE VERSE - Why I Was Late

My eyelids heavy, marks slipping

I look at the clock. 2:00am.

I go back to browsing.

My arms are tired, body failing

I look at the clock. 5:00am.

I go back to playing.

My brain is fried, sanity escaping

I look at the clock. 8.00am.

I go to sleep.

Wait...

A Day on the Island - Found poem from William Golding's Lord of the Flies

Source: Pages 10, 12, 23, 30, 31, 42, 53, 54, 57, 61, 62
By: James Zhao, Jenny Seo, Wania Khan, Kenneth Chung, Coco Liu & Tony Yin.
Music: James & Kenneth
Art: Jenny
Narrator: Wania

Attending the Writer's Festival

On Sunday, I went to the Writer's Festival with some friends to attend the "New Shoots" event. It's an one hour event where five writers/poets present some of their works, and then host a discussion. Of the five writers, two are actually high-school students with outstanding works of writing. Coincidentally, their names are both Sarah. Maybe I should name my kids Sarah in hopes that they become talented writers.

The writing that was presented were all similar in one way: their use of imagery all create incredibly detailed scenarios in my head. For example, one of the Sarah's writing was about her grandpa as a child facing off against a bully. The way her story is presented, we can almost feel her grandfather's anger towards the bully, and the adrenaline rush when they clashed.

After the presentations, there was a discussion period. During this period, there were questions ranging from "what made you start writing" to "how was it like to get your work out there". This was handled very well be all the writers, as they never paused awkwardly, never interrupted each other and they all had something to say. I wish I can be more like them.

Overall, I enjoyed this event more than I initially expected. It was pleasant listening to different writers presenting their own style of work, and it inspired me to start writing personal journals to improve my writing.

FTL - a short game review

FTL (Faster Than Light) is a rogue-like/strategy/action space shooter game developed by a Subset Games, a small indie company. In this game, the player’s goal is to safely guide their spaceship through “sectors” of space filled with pirates, rebel forces, or even asteroid fields. In addition, the player controls every single aspect of the ship; from life support, energy consumption to crew management or battles.

I have to say that I found this game amazing, but it isn’t for everyone. I personally enjoyed running all of the billions of components on the ship, but some of my friends who have tried the game found it very tiring and stressful. This game is also very challenging at times. On average, it takes four tries to even beat the game on beginning difficulties; each attempt usually takes hours. As expected, the satisfaction of beating the game for the first time feels great.

Here are my scores for each aspect of the game:

Replayability

8/10

Playing the game every time with different ships, weapons, crew and a whole new world really mixes up the formula.

Music

9/10

The game ingeniously plays two versions of the track at the same time. There is one intense and one calm version for every track, which are switched depending on the situation the player is in.

Graphics

9/10

A lot of this comes down to personal preference, but I personally think the devs did a great job on keeping everything neat and visually appealing with their limited budget.

Controls

10/10

The controls are quite intuitive and easy to use. It almost makes you feel like you are the captain of the spaceship issuing commands to everything.

Depth

10/10

Even after beating the game at least ten times, I would still learn something new every time.

Final score

9/10

If the you can get into this game, then say goodbye to all your spare time for the next month. This game is one of the most frustrating yet satisfying games I've played in a long time.