I Have A Dream
By Elise Downing, age 12, from Kingsthorpe, Northampton

"I have a dream that anybody can go into a shop and get anything without having money.
I have a dream that people will work and help the community out of care and love for their environment, not for a wage and self gain.
I have a dream that we will choose to gain and lose things, not for ourselves but for the benefits of others around us.
I have a dream!
I have a dream that everybody will have the right to become a somebody, things that are worthless will become priceless, and deprivation will become privilege.
I have a dream that the saying ‘you can’t get something for nothing’ will be a lie. You will always be able to get something for nothing yet nothing can always grow into something!
I have a dream that the world will unite yet everybody will still hold a unique individuality.
I have a dream that this planet will be an oasis, a tranquil heaven. The community will be equal, everybody will make every decision.
I have a dream that wealth will be nothing, colour will be nothing and religion will be nothing. It will still be here but it won’t inspire our choices, our friends or our lives!
I have a dream that we will have a system opposite to the one operation today. Instead of people taking all they can yet only contributing what they need to, we will contribute everything we can yet only take what we need. We will share every resource and strength we have. This way there will be no hunger or poverty, war or hate, greed or unfairness.
I have a dream that the world will not be dull, but every colour will be equal, every culture will be welcome and every experience will be shared.
I have a dream that every action will have a cause and every living thing have a worth.
I have a dream!
I have a dream that anything and everything will be recognised, but nothing will be more or less than anything else.
I have a dream that everybody will be given a chance and that your background, race, culture, origin, religion, family or wealth will be nothing against you but everything for you!
I have demonstrated my dream to you now you can demonstrate to me that you heard it, it can come true and it will come true!!!
I have a dream for the past, for the present and for the future! I have a dream for you, for me and for us! I have a dream for plants, for animals and for humans. I have a dream for this nation, for this country and for this planet!
I HAVE A DREAM!!!!!!!”

And then the bell rang, it was over. There was cheering then somebody screamed in the background ‘YOU’VE WON!!!!!!’. It finally sunk in, I had won the oratorical contest, the European finals! When the judges picked me to represent Mellow Orchard high school in the county final I was thrilled, when I won that and went on to represent the county I was overjoyed, then when I had competed and won I was almost disappointed that it was going to be over. I had no chance against competitors from almost every other European country, but I found that I did have a chance, and I took a hold of it with two hands. I had given a better speech than any other thirteen to sixteen year old in the whole of this continent!

I was swallowed up by the crowd, being thrown into the air, I glimpsed my mother crying in the background with her arms open wide. I fought my way through the immense auditorium, packed with people, and I got to my mother. She was speechless with pride, crying with admiration and laughing with pleasure.

“It was..it was...great, you brought memories back, but most of all you made me believe in what you were saying. I can pay you no higher compliment because that is what every speech strives to achieve; persuasion, respect, trust and belief.” My mother said.
And I had to believe her, I know that there was compliment higher than that she had just given me.

Then the crowd took me away again, I gave my mother one more meaningful glance, she saw in my face how much I loved her. But little did I know that my life would then change forever.......

Midnight Cat

Midnight cat wakes in the moonlit hours
And from her every other cat cowers,
She creeps and she crawls through the dead, night street
Inside her victim builds up a tension, a heat.

Midnight cat is lean and slender and sly
She’s cunning and quick, you barely notice her pass by,
She could commit a million deeds or just one crime
But would never be caught, she’d always escape in time.

Midnight cat’s claws are lethal,
If you were to see her, you wouldn’t dare think she’s real
Her coat is jet black, like a midnight sky
And she has a curious glint in her left eye.

Midnight cat has a mysterious air
She prowls through the allies, not easily does she scare,
Her long, sleek body fits into places
We will never see and neither will any other human faces.

The Spy In The Moonlight

She is lean and slender and sly
Perfect for her daring job, she is a spy.
She is always seeking clues
And discovering bodies, but whose?
Now she is hunting for the culprit
Of a murder in the moonlight.
Her soft, flowing, jet black hair
Is pulled tightly back, her image screams BEWARE!
She is now eccentric and wild,
Though she was brought up a prim and proper child.
She is crying for a partner and some attention
But has to hold back for her own protection.
On this journey she gathers what she needs
Covering up her sorrow and anger, for inside she bleeds!
When you’re on the mission of a lifetime
All your focus is on who committed the crime.
So she may seem strange,
But you will never see a change!

Peaceful Place

Where there is snow
And a peaceful bleating of sheep
A cool, breezy wind
Which ruffles your hair,
And creases yyour clothes.

Where stars twinkle
And the sun shines a golden yellow,
In the morning sky
And where the moon is like natures torch,
When it's full, it's white as summer clouds.

The weeds come up
And little green shoots hide beneath the snow,
The top is covered in white
And trees surround the bottom,
With flowers around their trunks.

You can listen to the lowing of cattle
And feel snow beneath your feet,
It crunches and sparkles
And melts in the midday sun,
Under a golden blaze of light.

Birds may chirp
And flap above your head,
But even when the sheep bleat
And snow softly falls,
There is still peace in this place.

What is this place,
This place of peace
A beautiful heaven,
Where you feel so light?
It is a mountain, a mountain of course!

The Bully’s Story

I can rob you of your pride,
And make you beg for mercy,
I can find my way into your heart,
And take away your goodness.

I can hurt you inside,
With words that never fade,
I can cut you on the surface,
With pain that never goes away.

I can make you dread every moment,
That you are made to face awake,
I can make you hide from those who care,
And help me and me alone.

I can beat you up,
Beat you up with words,
I can make you scream,
Scream with pain and sorrow that never dies!

The victim’s story

I will stand up against you one day,
You won’t rule me forever,
I will be brave soon,
But for now you are the winner.

I will not let you hurt me forever,
Some time soon I shall fight back,
I will always be better than you,
I have goodness in my heart.

I will always have belief though,
And make it through the bad times,
I will never believe that I’m a coward,
Or that I’m less than you.

I will not let you take away my soul,
Nor will I let you hurt me,
I will never let you win this battle,
So you might aswell stop trying!

In Weekender