This is an appreciation email Ryan sent to the organiser, Singapore Botanic Gardens on 27th May 2018, a day after he visited Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens for a poetry competition. He came up with the winning poem after being inspired by the greenery and nature.
Dear Auntie Natalie, Steffi and Christine,
Thank you very much for an opportunity to come to Botanic Gardens yesterday to take part in On-the-Spot Poetry Competition 2018: Reflecting on Nature.
Since last year, I have been very busy with my school life preparing for PSLE and do not have free time nor sufficient energy to let my creative juices flow, to be near to nature or even simply to exercise. Fortunately, this competition had given me an once in a blue moon chance to take a step back and smell the roses. To pick up something very different from my mundane routine.
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Frankly speaking, I was only introduced poetry two weeks ago by my school English teacher, Ms Helen Ng. She gave me some tips on Haiku and lent me a book from her old friend, Mr Melvin Lee, “Stars, Forest, Rain” to draw more inspiration from the various poems on different topics.
During the workshop, I found a new friend, Ethan, and we shared a happy lunch together. The poets are inspirational. I wished that I could ask them about how they start with poetry and where they get their inspirations from.
Come next year, I will be Secondary 1 and will not be able to join this competition. However, I would be most happy and honoured to come to read and share my poem with the new participants in 2019.
Hopefully I can inspire them about poetry and help them forge their own path as they begin this awesome lifelong learning journey in literature.
Please forward my email and convey my heartfelt gratitude to the organisers of The Poetry Festival of Singapore. I look forward to taking part in more poetry events from them in future. Maybe, I could invite some of my friends along too.
My appreciation poem:
Title: Gratitude
Intrigued, I search the depths of the waters
The overpowering height of the mountains
Piquing my interest
My heart follows
A book named Poetry
unravelled to me
Plain superficial, with its deep inner meaning
No one could relate
Your effort is known to me
Your hard work worthwhile
A new thing that I had learnt
Reaping a harvest, I am left
fascinated
An expression of appreciation,
this poem contains
All thanks from the poet, me,
it certainly retains
Yours sincerely,
Ryan Tay
Grateful Participant
This is a My Little Day Out Story written by Ryan Tay, 12.
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