Marine poetry

As part of our Marine Week events we ran a poetry competition to find the best poem about any aspect of marine life around our shores. Here are the winners from each category.

Starfish

I see a starfish in the sea, fascinating as can be.
Five funny legs with suckers on, sticks to the rock until I’ve gone.

It looks very strange but I can’t touch, the starfish would not like it much.
Instead I just stand and stare, I think it looks wonderful there.

Bethany Redhead aged 7 from Morley, Leeds (Under 9's: category)

The Sea

Dolphin swimming in the sea,
Come on people look at me.
I swim all day and swim all night,
I leap and dive it's such a sight.
Tourists come from miles around,
To see the wreck the divers found.
The treasure beneath the surface,
Diamond covered rotten case.
Filled with gold and silver treasure,
Who eve built it must be clever.
So the man that finds the case
Shouldn’t really leave a trace.

Lisa Martin, aged 12 from Redruth, Cornwall (9 - 12 yrs category)

As I was walking on the beach,
I spied a shell that was within my reach.
I picked it up and looked inside,
I put it to my ear and heard the tide.

Under the shell was some weed,
I looked at it closer, and I saw a bead.
All of a sudden, my mind was a swirl,
For that bead was in fact a pearl.

Under the weed, I found a crab,
So I shouted out, to my Dad.
“ Fetch the bucket, get the spade”
I know how my next sandwich is to be made.

Under the crab, I found a stone,
So I picked it up and took it home.
I polished it up and then I found,
It was worth more than a million pound.

Under the stone I found a note,
Which turned out to be a quote,
For that beach, was up for sale,
So I sold my stone, immediately without fail.
I bought the beach for all to use,
So everyone could explore and peruse,
The things, the beach shows us each day,
And enjoy whiling the hours away.

Mr P Mead from Romford, Essex (open category)