Below are the winning pieces from the 2011 Independence Literary Arts Competition in the category poetry 11 and under, and 12-17.

Little Me, Forward On  by Zaion Williams, 1st place – Poetry 11 and under
 Forward ever, backward never.
Each endeavoring, all achieving,
Living in peace and harmony,
Where all God’s creatures are free.
Our forefather’s laboured and toiled,
They became sons of the soil.
They did their best, day after day,
Never time to rest,
For freedom was their quest.
Boys and girls, big and small,
Answer to our nation’s call.
Stand tall, do not be afraid,
We are the children of the day.
So, let us remember our nation
As we play and pray.
I am a child, very small,
But, one day, I will stand tall.

Forward On, by Karenna Nicholson, 2nd place – Poetry 11 and under
Antigua and Barbuda, so good to me,
An island where the people are free,
To choose the leaders of the nation,
And celebrate emancipation.

Before emancipation we worked so hard,
None of the slave masters had any regard,
For boy, girl, woman or man,
Who toiled every day in their homeland.

Then, one day, freedom came!
What an end to this wicked game!
It was a very happy end,
Massa and slave soon became friends.

Antigua is moving swiftly ahead,
No longer our forefathers suffer and bleed.
The days of slavery have long gone.
Forward Antigua, forward on!

I Whisper, “Forward On” by Jordée Josiah - 1st place – Poetry 12-17
I chose to whisper because it seems like the only form of the spoken word we listen to;
The only form we garner our energies to appreciate.
The whisper says I’m scared of the beginning, not the ending, because of the faith that is needed to start every new journey.
Do I trust myself to take the first step?
Or do I stay where I am and keep wishing for the end?
Do I try to make a difference, or do I follow my ancestors and sleep forever?
Do I become the coward that hides in his own shadow?
Why choose to hold onto the end of the rope dangling over a cliff when the rest of the rope is in sight?
Why not hold tight and climb to new heights?
Just like the moth is not the death of day but the life of night,
So each of us is here for a different time, season, and purpose.
We all hear the whisper, “Forward On.”
We know it means to let go of the past and step into a new era.
When are we going to become the whisper and tell ourselves, friends, family and country,
To Forward On, and to take only what we need to make a better future?

Keep Moving Forward!, by Brittany Noon - 2nd place – Poetry 12-17
What is a world without improvement?
What is a dance without movement?
Believe it or not, new things are invented every day;
New cooking recipes and games to play.
You can’t stop progression,
Some people say it’s just an impression.
Even when there’s a recession,
You can’t sit and worry about depression.
I can’t help but think that something good,
Will come from the misunderstood.
There’s a silver lining in every cloud,
An outstanding person in every crowd.
There are so many reasons to keep improving,
Showing that you can do your best is something worth proving.
So, try your best each day,
Improvement is worth the price you pay!

Success, Moved On, by Cocher Josiah - 3rd place – Poetry 12-17r
Sitting nervously with bitten nails,
Legs shaking, belly turning,
Wondering if you made it,
Nobody wants to be the one who fails.

Forgotten are the troubles you’ve seen,
Forgotten are those who denied your dreams,
Forgotten are those who wish you wouldn’t succeed.

For they were wrong,
For you said, forward on!
And you ran the race, like Usain Bolt, you came first place.
Your ideas flowed like a river of creativity.

You packed your bags the night before morning came,
You played your hand in life’s unfair game,
You made the best from the worst,
You conquered all, and now it’s yours,
What you have been fighting for.

You said no to second place,
You kicked failure in the face,
Now you can stand with head held high,
For you have earned your place in the sky. 

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