Junior Category (ages 11-14)

Piper Charteris, I know a hero, 2017

I know a hero
people will walk past him and see him as strong
but I know him better than that
he wont let himself feel
and slowly his body cracks
I try to fix it but i know it will not do
super glue will not work this time
and soon he shatters
and now he picks up the shards that cut his hands
and glues my cracks together.

Georgia Wong, Heroes, 2017

To the person I saw on the streets today:

You won't remember me.
After all,
I looked you in the eye for
A matter of a split second.

But I saw so much.

I saw your weathered face
Tanned by the sun and your skin
Made tough by however many years
You have been sleeping underneath the stars.

I saw the rip in your jacket and your calloused hands.

And I saw the courage you had
To sit there day after day
In the public eye
Open to whatever
Look
Head turn
Snigger
Might come your way.

I saw your kindness too.
I knew that when someone put
A little money in your
Sun-bleached bucket
The skin around your eyes would
Crinkle because you smiled
And I knew you meant it
When you gripped their hand and said
"thank you"

Now, I realise that today, a stereotypical hero
Has to do something 'phenomenal'
Like save someone's life

But to save someone's life
You have to be two things:
Brave
And kind.

And for me that's what being a hero is.
So, to the homeless person I saw on the streets today:

You're my hero.