CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THESE YOUNG WOMEN POETS
First place winning poem by Fiada Kede
Poem #01 Tok Pisin translation preferred by the judge Em i wok lon draun Olain! Olain! Yupela i lukim ol mak nogut? long antap tru blo Blu igodaun lo aninit tru blo Blu Blupela Pasifika i wok lon draun Draun insait lo bik solo wara bilong bagarap hevi bilong resos extreksen i putim em i go daun Em i go daun aninit mo na mo yet Na em i , crai na crai mo yet Lo ol pikinini blo em, em i singaut Lo halivim, em i singaut Ron i cam daun lo maunten blo deforestasen, bulut bilon em i ron tasol nogat wanpla man i luksave lo em Mipla i wari tasol lon hevi blo mipla yet Em i wok lo draun, Blupela Pasifika i wok lo draun wantem planti samtin em i save karim wantem ol halivim em i save givim wantem olgeta samtin em i stap insait lon em, em i wok lo draun Sori tru ! Olain! Lukluk gut lo ol mak nogut Original English version She is drowning! Oh man! Oh man! Have you not seen the omen? from the highest of the Blue to the deepest of the Blue the Blue Pasifika is drowning Drowning in the ocean of pollution Weighed down by the resources extraction she sinks, deep and deep and she, weep and weep To her heir, she is pleading For help, she pleads Cascading down the mountain of deforestation, she bleeds Yet no one takes heed For all we care, is our need She is drowning, the Blue Pasifika is drowning with the myriad that she's hosting with the services that she's providing with all there is, she's drowning Alas! Oh man! Take heed of the omen!
Fiada Kede is a second time winner of the mini-poetry competition for World Environment Day on Ples Singsing. She won last year’s smaller contest with her poem In that Paradise. Fiada is from Eastern Highlands Province currently residing in Port Moresby, and does not currently attend a school. She had this to say last year; “I love reading poems. What I love about poems is the way the ordinary things are expressed in an extraordinary way. When I read poems, it gives me a new sense of seeing things”.
Last year Michael Dom judged the four poem entrees and had this to say about Fiada’s poem.
“It was a pleasant surprise that the poem was short but compact when first sighted and had a very different feeling to it than the other three when read. Partly I suspect my own proclivity to verse but the prose examples made less valuable poetic level comparison on their own. They were weaker. Only Austin’s poem comes close to it in the intensity of language. Fiada’s metaphor does the work and she does not need to extend her text to decorate the page. Stepping back, as I didn’t do in the essay, I’d say In that Paradise was conceptually as different from the three preceding poems as oranges are to apples. I think Fiada knows what she’s doing and has an agenda, certainly in the feminine domain of not feminist. But the expression of her meaning and intent is not overpowering – it is well placed. The other poems were from a response to the competition, the desire for gain or glory, subjugating their creativity to the task of writing a poem. Fiada responded to her need to express what was meaningful to her poetically – in freedom.
Email communication with Wantok’s of Ples Singsing
Second place winning poem by Zelia Timan
MY WORLD Mountains up high; Yet beneath the sky; I could see my world, my own little world. Papua New Guinea, a place filled with rich culture and diversity; That gives vibes of perfect ecstasy. We’ve reached for it, but could never achieve; Perfect cleanliness above all deeds. In the world’s largest ocean, and having the third largest forest; “Mi hamamas lo tok, PNG is still the best.” Though we are losing our value, due to global warming and pollution; We need a solution, the danger is not an illusion. So let’s set our heads in motion and clean our ocean; And produce a clean world, our own clean world. Fishes blob, and birds tweet; We have rich lands beneath our feet; Filled with copper and gold; From the Highlands to the Islands; God’s love and embrace; Shown from sunrise till sunset’s evening grace. Even when the sun sets and its dark times; The moon comes up, and does its crimes; Stealing attention and releasing tension. While the owls hoot, I will retire; And the cats and mosquitoes will sing out in choir. As my world remains beautiful, my own beautiful world.
Third place winning poem by Audreyanna Manoa
TO CHERISH AND TO DESTROY In this world of wonder and chaos, We coexisted, both human and nature, Dependent on each other, our survival and our life force. The waters, the lands, the air, the environment, Our life’s source, our life’s contingent. To cherish and to destroy, For that has always being our story. Hardly are there any more lavish green grasslands, Or the luxuriant of forests, and mountains, and wood lands. For these are ravaged for shelter, food, and money. For human nature is more greedy and cunning. To cherish and to destroy, For some believe life is everything given and to enjoy. The beautiful waters, rivers and seas, Now are filled with dirt and waste. The fish and aquatic life being threaten, Although it is what many depend on. To cherish and to destroy, This livelihood is all but a void. The environment, our hope of life, The most common thing we sacrifice. Yet, back to it, we return, We our mistakes, still unlearnt.
Worthy mention poem by Ann Kobla
Gone are the days when you held your head high There is no house you will find yourself a safe nest Gone are the days when you were admired at best Oh, how you fly high with pride In high spirit you stride Gliding through the rugged mountains magnificently Through the valley you sang majestically You are beautifully painted with colors of love
Gone are the days when you held your head high Now, you are hunted down and stripped from your beauty As though human pride is your duty Displaying your splendor without fear Now you clipped your wings in gear For flight is your survival Gone are the days when you sang sweetly Now, you gave a fearful shrill Oh, how you danced your tail freely in the wind Now your tail dance on their crowns Yet no slight hint of gratitude But pride and arrogance Gone are the days when you spread your wings in the ray of sunshine Now spear dart in your breast And your plume ripped from you Every blow was cold and heartless There is no shadow of fortress to rest your wings For you shall soar with an anguished heart through the dawn of time
This year’s competition was delivered as part of Ples Singsing’s Projek Singaut Igo Aut “Building a national literature through discussion, competition and collaboration” by a Commonwealth Foundation Pacific Islands grant.
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