Debate Competition

The classroom hums like a restless hive,
Polished shoes and sharpened minds arrive.
Pages flutter — arguments rehearsed,
Dreams of triumph, fear of worst.

A wooden podium stands up front,
Silent witness to every verbal stunt.
Two sides face like rising tides,
Truth and doubt in shifting strides.

A timer ticks with measured grace,
Each second tightens time’s embrace.
Voices rise — precise, profound,
Logic wrapped in fearless sound.

Statistics march in ordered lines,
Quotations sparkle, bright as signs.
Rebuttals flash like sudden rain,
Washing holes through flawed terrain.

A pause — then counterpoint takes flight,
Calm composure in heated light.
Hands that trembled moments before
Now carve conviction to the core.

Judges watch with thoughtful eyes,
Weighing passion against the wise.
Not just volume, not just flair — 
But balanced thought laid clear and bare.

At last, applause like thunder rolls,
Echoing through anxious souls.
Win or lose, the lesson won:
Brave minds shine when words are spun.

For in that clash of voice and view,
We learn to question, test, renew — 
And find within each spoken claim
The spark that keeps ideas aflame.