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Poignant poem by Nobleford teen |
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Written by Gerald Gauthier LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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Monday, 09 November 2009 |
A moving poem she wrote to honour Canada’s war dead has earned Haily Cervo, a Nobleford teen, a trip to Ottawa where she will lay a wreath Wednesday on behalf of the country’s youth during Remembrance Day ceremonies on Parliament Hill.
Cervo, 17, is the winner of the national Royal Canadian Legion Literary and Poster Contest for her poem entitled Living in His Shadow. The Grade 12 student at Noble Central School wrote the poem a year ago for an English class assignment. Everyone in her class submitted their work to the contest, and Cervo learned this past spring hers had been chosen as a winner.
“I found out on April Fool’s Day, so I thought it was a joke at first,” she told The Herald before her scheduled departure to Ottawa Monday.
“I’m kind of shocked. I didn’t expect to win it,” she said. “I feel really honoured. I feel like I’ve been getting a lot of attention lately. It’s been overwhelming, but it’s nice.”
The contest judges entries from students in four categories ranging from Grades 1 to 12. As the winner in the senior category for students in Grades 10-12, Cervo earned the invitation to this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony in the nation’s capital. Her poem is also to be displayed in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Her prize includes all flights and accommodations for herself and one of her parents — her mother is attending with her — plus all meals and $600 for incidental expenses.
In recognition of the award, she was invited to read her poem last week to the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton.
News of her win was also a moving experience for members of her family.
“My dad cried. My grandpa did, too. They were really proud of me,” she said.
This week’s events will be tinged with personal sadness for Cervo. Her grandfather, Brian Cervo of the Crowsnest Pass, had planned to travel to Ottawa with her this week, as well, but he passed away unexpectedly in mid-October.
Although the poem seems to address a single soldier, she said, it’s actually written to an imagined person who serves as a composite of all fallen Canadian soldiers.
“I just think it’s really sad that people are starting to forget about that kind of thing,” she said.
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