Out of the mouths of babes. Angelica Krikler, who wrote and submitted her poem ‘Nature’ when she was 16, streaked ahead of her fellows on the shortlist and is IS&T’s Pick of the Month for June 2017. Voters responded to the beauty of the poem and were engaged by its exceptional use of language.
Angelica lives in Essex and writes fiction and poetry outside of school. Her poem ‘Bacteria’ was published on the online Y-Magazine and another poem ‘Cleopatra’ is published in the latest issue of morphrog.com
Nature
Plants grow out of her eyes
Because all she sees in him is the beauty of nature
The chants she stops in her day to listen to
The air she exhales
And the mud she wipes from her feet
But nature is a vicious cycle
Two seas mix, the water never settles
Endlessly floating from the plaits in her hair and the sandy pebbles on the shore
Like the granules in a coffee pot
Weight on shoulders
Hands on the small of her back
Magnetic air between mouths
One day she’ll know what to spend her money on
One day she’ll know how to reply
She will lift up the old carpet
Dragging a tree away from its roots
Realising soon that sometimes nature must be cut away
In order to see the daylight
Voters comments included:
Angelica’s poem is beautiful, written with soul, sensitivity and maturity. Well deserving of the prize.
Unique & engaging poem
I think it’s a very powerful piece of poetry and it speaks to me on a deeper level than the others
Angelica is a phenomenal artist and writer. Her work evokes the beauty of the natural world and the wonders of our environment.
The most incredible young talent I have ever known X
Exceptional wording.
I like the use of enjambment.
…a stand out
This poem uses language cleverly and beautifully to express deep feelings and strong ideas
Beautifully written with a powerful and unexpected ending
Because I’m not a poem kind of guy but it made me think about the woman
Touched me on a personal level. Beautiful.
Amazing poem, very well written