Class 10 Poetry Competition Winner
We’re thrilled to share that Tej in Class 10 has been chosen as one of just three national winners in the Young Writers Empowered poetry competition — selected from over 7,300 entries!
Tej’s poem was praised by independent judge Mark Grist, who described it as “sharp, clever and incredibly timely… a real tour de force in how it explores the internet… shocking and moving too.”
We’re so proud of this amazing achievement — well done, Tej! 👏
Here is Tej's winning poem:
Down and down she falls
Down and down she falls.
Down the rabbit hole of colours and shapes,
Of facts and hacks,
Of hiking trips and cruise ships,
Of endless smiles and sun...
Of how to kill your mum.
Of half-price deals on baby cots,
And why you should change your cooking pot,
And a video of a woman who just got shot.
On how to really tie a tie,
A man who's baking pumpkin pie,
And now he's unzipping his fly.
Down and down she falls.
She had just sat down for a second.
A moment... But two and a half hours later,
She's still looking at her screen, shining blue,
Her fingers stuck to it like glue.
She feels ashamed, unsatisfied and unseen,
But still craves those hits of dopamine.
Down and down she falls.
By now, her eyes are square,
Her hunched back aches in her chair,
Her head is shouting out at her to stop,
Yet her fingers keep scrolling from the top.
Down and down she falls.
But it's not just her falling into the abyss.
5.24 billion people around the nations,
That's 64% of the population,
Are stuck scrolling with no explanation.
Down and down we fall.
It's time we learn to defy gravity,
And see this situation in all its clarity.
If we come together, all as one,
And decide that the reign of screens is done.
Together, this epidemic we can overcome.
Up and up we rise.
🖋️ You can read more about the competition and winners here: youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/winners/secondary-11-18/empowered
