I
recently took part in the John Byrne Award, reaching the final ten places. Our brief was to produce a creative piece in
response to two stimuli: an Oxfam briefing paper and the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation paper, both dealing with the themes of poverty and wealth. I
decided to build on my creative writing skills and wrote a poem entitled
‘What Is’.
I
thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the whole project but meeting Peter
Capaldi and John Byrne at the Awards Ceremony was definitely a highlight. I
would encourage anyone to really think about entering as it is a very rewarding
experience and I gained a huge amount of experience and confidence from it!
‘What
Is’
Poverty:
the state of being extremely poor.
Poverty:
the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.
Poverty:
the burning pit of hunger at the bottom of your stomach that grates the insides
into a thousand screaming mouths.
Poverty:
the roof over your head a cool sweep of stars that welcome your plight and send
it out into the void, unheard.
Poverty:
the filthy black liquid oozing from the tap, a regular sight you have come to
crave.
Poverty:
the lack of sufficient contraceptives, leaving the life of a young girl in the
hands of a nation who do not see any other way.
Poverty:
the opposite of wealth.
Wealth:
the choice of cereals becoming a game in the morning.
Wealth:
the plush new blanket matching the curtains very well, thank you.
Wealth:
the heat of the water on your back as you scrub the day away.
Wealth:
the comfort gained from a single touch.
Wealth:
the lies and corruption from the politicians snatching the tax from innocent
workers.
Wealth:
an ‘abundance’ of knowledge.
Knowledge:
a saviour.
Knowledge:
a pathway into the most fruitful wonders imaginable.
Knowledge:
a key to power, and passage to happiness.
Happiness:
improving, sustaining, accomplishing.
Happiness:
a product of empathy, a partner of humanity, an integral aspect of love.
Wealth:
love, knowledge, happiness.
Elaine
O’Donnell, 6K2
