Junior Poetry Prize 2022

Congratulations to Delia Brady, who has been awarded this year's Junior Poetry Prize for her work 'The Moon':

My Moon

I have a moon of my own.

She haunts me from a distance, dimly aglow.

She seems to reach out, but even if I stretch my fingers

I know I’ll never reach her.

So strange to know a moon by name, to see her sit next to me.

She seems the saddest for one who shines so bright.

She seems to only call me when it’s night, perhaps 

The loneliest time.

My cherished moon, I look for her always.

Her indecisive presentation keeps her alive, but

Puts me in a guessing daze.

And on the nights she does not show herself,

I wait impatiently for her return.

I never hear what she tries to say, her volume smaller than a whisper,

The distance dissolves her message throughout the pin-prick of stars.

My beloved moon, I admire her from afar.

She is certainly the most beautiful thing in my galaxy.

A million planetary rings could never outstand her creases, curves, and spots.

And when she takes centre stage to 

Eclipse what we always see

A million people gather just for her, and yet

We still can not see her.

My precious moon, I’ll never know her touch.

As incredulous and tempting as she is, I know that

If I inched any closer, I would only be grasping at air.

So, I will watch her from here.

I will reach up and stretch my fingers. I will cup my hands 

And I will imagine I am holding her; for when one is

Deeply in love with the moon, I believe that is all I  can do.

My rare and mysterious, my ever changing, my center of dreams,

I love her

Because she is My moon

And I will never stop loving her.