2026 Hampshire Young Poets Competition
Best Lines and Winners

 

4 to 7 years

1st Place - Dotty T.
FISH FINGER!
You have got a finger swimming in the sea
OH MY! OH MY! What can it be?!
It jumps about on dry land
and it off with a rubber band!
It hops into a bowl of bread crumbs,
it's in the fridge and it hums and hums.
It jumps out of the fridge, its crumbs spill a dozen.
Walks around the kitchen and it turns on the oven.
Burning and burning firey hot
OUCH! he said, make it stop!
He flings out like a catapult finger!
What is it they say.
Oh A Fish Finger!

​

2nd Place - Soren B.
Food To Choose
Fantastic fried chicken sizzling on the BBQ
Amazing apples sitting in your fruit bowl, still as a morning lake
Ripe oranges being farmed by kind and caring workers
Pineapples and pears, both super scrumptious
Fresh fish from a rambling river, cooked in a hot, steaming pie
Baked goods from fields to bakeries - crispy croissants and creamy cakes
Peeled potatoes and plump pumpkins, growing in the same ground as crunchy cucumbers
So many foods to choose, it’s hard to know which one to use

 

3rd Place - Chester P.
Picnic tea
We found a gaming spot
on a beach. Here's what we had for
a picnic tea.
We had flies in the sandwiches
a dog in the chocolate
sausage in the pizza
a brain in the juice
a head in the tea
a scorpion in the jelly
bird eggs on the hot chocolate
Ice cream full of lightning.

 

Best Lines
Rehan M. - …and most of all badgers in the basket. Worst day of my Life
Freyja L. - There’s no such thing as the sozy monster just the sosij loverrr...me!
Alena Y. - I like chips with my unicorn
Edison M. - When I find the seeds in the juicy melon, they pounce all over me
Charlotte G. - Disgusting Dragonfruit. Looks amazing but isn’t.

 

8 to 11 years
1st Place - Autumn T.

The Jam Sandwich
30
pairs of eyes,
pudgy fingers, snot
trails across sleeves,
strawberry wafts mix with
glue-stick aroma, legs crossed
on the crusty caterpillar rug — our
mouths water… White triangles ooze red
slime onto plates — jam, butter and phlegm.
Mmmmm… Scarlet-streaked faces, crimson fingers
— a murder scene. 30 jam sandwiches, 30 stomach bugs.

​

2nd Place - Emilia H.
Apple and blackberry crumble
Fresh out of the microwave,
an autumn day released into the house,
crumbles on top and fruit underneath,
even a whole cauldron isn't enough to eat,
apples and blackberries picked by the finest,
it's a warm crispy hug given by the kindest,
delicious shattered brick waiting to be gulped down,
I feel like it should have a crown,
it's clumpy and crispy just how we like it,
race winner by far in their red and black kit,
it's the perfect pudding juicy and heavenly,
but it wouldn't go so great if it was melonely.

​

3rd Place - Arthur L.
The march of the waffles
A fluffy mix, A lovely treat
Usually something good to eat
But not right now as they scurry along
Singing a scary waffle war song
Wielding pointed marshmellow sticks
Nearly piercing its waffle mix
Marching up into my room
And tried to hit me with a small broom
I woke up to see waffles singing proud
Singing at full volume, really loud
I picked one up and had a bight
All of the waffles stared at me in fright
I was hungry I said as They ran around
The march of the waffles ended there,

with all of them feeling very scared

Best Lines
Milana G. - Please don’t hurt the eggs, they have feelings too
Lena Z. - A sour vitamin volcano now turned sweet, will explode your tastebuds with happiness
Aiyla P. - They’re fighting in the fridge, losing all their flavour. But wait, instead of picking them the man picked the quaver
Ariya F. -Then my owners come home and say would you like some special treats because you have been so good all day.
Hamish P. - The cucumber’s being a pickle. He sprinkled caterpillars all over my head

​

12 to 16 years

1st Place - Khudeeja B.
In the hush before the film begins, a crisp packet betrays me—
its silver whisper louder than dialogue, salt and guilt on my fingertips as strangers shift in velvet seats.
At home, we still speak of the cake— how it sank in the middle like a tired heart,
how the icing slid, defeated, and we laughed harder than we meant to, forking sweetness from its ruins.
A carrot snaps—clean, bright— a small thunder between my teeth,
earth still clinging to its memory, as if the garden refuses to let it go.
In the kitchen, spices wake first—cumin crackling, turmeric staining the air gold,
onions softening into something like love. The room fills with a language I have always understood.
But sometimes, forgotten things speak louder— a bruised apple, leaking its quiet rot
into the dark corner of a schoolbag, its sour breath rising like a warning I chose not to hear.
And then there is flour—everywhere— my baby brother’s laughter dusting the counters, the floor, my hair,
our small hands trying to shape order from soft, collapsing dough.
Later, I hold a roti— warm as a pulse between my fingers, steam curling like a secret, and for a moment I am held, too.
Food is never just food— it is noise and silence, failure and fire, the things we forget, and the things that refuse to leave.

 

2nd Place - Alhena M.
The First Iftar
8:23.
5 more minutes.
Zahl sanna is poured into our bowls and samosas crackle in the air fryer.
Children swarm the tables and the parents roll their eyes.
Our plates are full but we can only look,
Mehndi is etched intricately on my hands.
Shouts echo from the kitchen but-
The Adhan plays
Everyone takes the first bite of their date.
No words, just an understanding look.
Water hits our lips and suddenly- "Pass the khatti kebabs" and "Auntie, this is delicious!"

A plate shatters, but we find it in us to laugh
Yes, our hunger may be gone,
But still, nobody leaves the table

​

3rd Place - Abigail C.
PINK PINEAPPLE Poem
Pink pineapple, pink pineapple, pink pineapple
I love pink pineapple
我喜欢粉红色的菠萝
[Wǒ xǐhuān fěnhóng sè de bōluó]
(I like pink pineapples)
Pink, pink, pink all around me
Nobody can compete, compete, compete
Is this illegal?

'Cause it feels illegal
It tastes like air, breathy and wild It tastes like freedom, catchy and mild
音乐传到我耳边
[Yīnyuè chuán dào wǒ ěr biān]
(Music reaching my ears)
No other fruit can rival
这违法吗？
[Zhè wéifǎ ma?]
(Is this illegal?)
'Cause I think I want it to be illegal

Best Lines
Holly H. - But alone I stand counting bones beneath the bathroom light
Amelia F. - There’s marscapone cheese but no marscadonkey cheese
Eliza C. - The coppery taste of your gorgeous blood; you’re my breakfast, my dinner, my lunch
Cherisha S. - And when I do she’ll raise here voice at me just like I was expecting her to do.
Rosie S. - Chew slowly and savour what so many are not fortunate enough to share