Ninety-four students from Hereford Cathedral School have had their poetry published in The Beautiful Truth, a prestigious national poetry anthology.
The students, from Years 7 to 13, were invited to write a poem inspired by the theme of ‘The Beautiful Truth.’ Their work was selected for publication alongside entries from young poets across the country.
HCS Head of English, Mrs Early, praised the students’ creativity, saying: “We were really impressed by the range of ideas and the quality of their writing. Students approached the project with enthusiasm and imagination.”
The anthology showcases a variety of poetic styles and interpretations of the theme, reflecting the students’ unique perspectives and storytelling abilities.
This achievement highlights the school’s strong literary tradition and commitment to nurturing young writers.
The two poems below feature in The Beautiful Truth:
Truth
I have not won Truth’s favour,
For her bitter hands blind me.
She has not allowed me to share her grace.
She hides the very essence of her beauty from me.
The forgiveness, life, acceptance and relief,
Laced together to form her tender soul.
Yet that is for her favourable.
For us, we are left with the numbing chills,
The strangling grasp of her hands,
And only our pitiful tears to warm us.
We are left drowning in inexplicable sorrow,
And our desires for what could have been.
The alternate future where she did not claw her way in.
That other life, the ember of love or illusions we wished to live.
Yet she grins as she steals and reduces them to cinders.
For she is the burden Man must endure for eternity.
She constantly forges destruction,
Leaving us to tread on the sharpened fragments of her existence.
We who are unfavoured by Truth,
‘Unlucky’ and ‘unfavourable’ are we.
For we trudge through the residue she leaves,
With the hands of ignorance blinding us.
Ruqaya ER
Consistency
The work begins without a sound,
No honour here, no cheering crowd.
I doubt the mission, I doubt the way,
Yet still, I stand and face the day.
Each motion feels like moving sand,
The weight of doubt within my hand.
But something shifts in silence deep –
A change unfolds where shadows sleep.
I yearn for proof, for signs of worth,
But effort alone can feel like curse.
The mirrors deceive; no dawn in sight,
And yet I work through the night.
Until one day, I feel the shift –
A flame once cold begins to lift.
For in the dark, through endless grind,
The self I sought, I slowly find.
So let it be, the lesson clear:
In every trial, a truth unfolds.
With sweat and grit, the heart draws near,
What you invest is what you hold.
Leonidas M
