A TEENAGE poet from has had his dark tale selected for a national poetry anthology.

Year 10 Fearns Community Sports College pupil Leon Watson will have his poem published in Teen Poets 2017 – Voices of Youth after it was selected from hundreds of entries submitted from around the country.

Greed is a lengthy dark poem and tells the story of one man’s downfall.

Leon, 15, from Weir, said: “I didn’t expect my poem to get picked because I thought it would be too dark.

“Poetry is not something you can be made to write; something has to inspire you. Poetry comes to you because you believe, see or hear something – it can’t come to you because of an award or trophy. You feel something and you want to put it into words and you want to get it out there.”

Young Writers Editor Emily Johnstone said: “I am delighted that Leon’s poem Greed has been chosen for publication in a book showcasing young adults’ work. Poems have been selected based on imagination, creativity and use of language.”

Performance poet Dave Mellor from The Wirral critiqued Leon’s poem and said: “This starts out like a delightful fairy tale then twists into something like the gingerbread man, then twists even darker.“I was truly stunned by this poem. It grabs your attention and the rhyme and the meter hold it together as a force to be reckoned with. You have a gift and I hope you write more and more.

“You have a voice and you write with authority.”

The anthology will be published by in November.