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Changes on Orewa Beach, especially the lack of dry white sand, was the subject of a poem by Orewa couple Jeanette and Ken Beehre. Hannah Flint writes her poem about unrequited love.
Local poets took their work to the public by writing them in the sand of Orewa Beach last month.
The second Poetry on the Beach event, on August 17, attracted around 15 official entries, as well as several more from passers by who decided to join in – a total of 23 poems were written on the beach.
Poets ranged in age from 11 to 80.
It was organised by the Orewa Writers and Poets Group to mark National Poetry Day (August 23) and was open to anyone who wanted to write an original poem on the sand. First prize of $100 was a big incentive for several of the poets who took part.
While some were members of the writers’ group, others were first time poets. While some wrote of love, or the romance of the sea, others focused on their concerns about the state of local waterways and the Orewa Beach environment.
The latter included first-time poets Jeanette and Ken Beehre, who said they wanted to express their feelings about the lack of white dry sand on Orewa Beach, compared with how it was when they first moved to the area.
Another poet, Sue Courtney, wrote a poem of welcome to the godwits, which are due to fly back to Orewa Estuary early this month.
The majority wrote long poems and several underlined passages with driftwood for emphasis, or decorated their work with shells or seaweed.
Judge Dr Jack Ross, who has published five poetry books and is editor of Poetry NZ, will make his selection of a winner in the coming weeks.
