Having won our our Children’s Poetry competition, held in collaboration with BBC Suffolk, we are thrilled to have had Anna open the Waterfront stage with a reading of her winning poem!
The Mother Tree, is a touching ode to nature, where she beautifully portrays the solace and rejuvenation she finds in the forest, conversing with a wise and listening tree.
Anna’s remarkable achievement was celebrated as she had the prestigious opportunity to inaugurate the Waterfront stage at Latitude with a live reading of her poem. The audience was spellbound by her performance of The Mother Tree, kicking off the festival weekend in such a great way.
Here is Anna’s beautiful poem in full:
The Mother Tree
I saunter
Into the woods
Inhale the smell
…Wild Garlic…Onion?
No, wet earth after it rains
This has a special name
I cannot remember
But it is special
I continue
Through the hushing
The whispering trees
They are having a conversation
From the floor, a sapling
And I look to the nearest tree
Perhaps the Mother?
The Mother Tree
I gaze
Upon her branches
Light dances
Moving her leaves
She talks to me
I talk back, my worries
She listens, with gentle ears
Like Mothers do
I leave
The cover of the canopy
Into the gaze of the sun
Free of worries
Fresh from nature
Happy to have talked to
The Mother Tree
Be sure to catch so many more mesmerising moments like Anna’s performance, in the days to come at Latitude!