Poems of the Month: June and July

With one editor residing in Port Augusta & one in the Barossa, getting together to discuss poems has been a challenge (and after an exhausting 4 hour long phone conversation to determine March & May we decided it had to be face to face). Finally after a couple of hiccups we achieved it this past weekend.

June

June was a massive success for the online portal. Over 60 poems were submitted by 22 poets and the quality was extraordinarily high. A quarter of the poems made the longlist and choosing, first the final five, then the top three was exceedingly difficult. We liked so many we have awarded two Highly Commended and three Honourable Mentions because we want poets to know that their poems are resounding with us and to keep up the great work. 

June Poem of the Month
Portrait at Fourteen by David Cookson

Highly Commended
A Word by Gordon Macpherson
impasse by David Adès

Honourable Mention
Blue (a rant) by Roger Higgins
summer of cousins by Rory Harris
Penong Races by Veronica Cookson

July

A slight decrease in both quantity and quality for July. 37 poems from 14 poets. Great poems “jump out” at editors and there were slightly less arresting poems this month than usual.  However, that didn’t make choosing the POTM any easier because the final choice between the final two was exceedingly hard. Both were excellent in striking yet contrasting ways.

July Poem of the Month
Woven by Roger Higgins

Highly Commended
Skin by Rory Harris

Honorable Mention
Quick Fix by Claire-Louise Watson
A Return by Valerie Volk

The editors would also like to commend David Adès, Rory Harris, Roger Higgins, Gordon McPherson, Claire-Louise Watson, and others for consistently having poems in and around the top 5. You make our job incredibly challenging, but also deeply rewarding and for this we thank you.

Glen R Johns and Sarah Radford, 2020 Anthology editors.

June Poem of the Month
Portrait at Fourteen by David Cookson
 
Sparrow-perched on a bench,
crossed legs juxtapose 
with her budding, 
acne a small moonscape.
Long fingers fidget with her phone 
as a believer with a rosary.
Shoulders huddled, 
her eyes sidestep to watch mall’s minutiae; 
detached though,
not perhaps pondering the big jigsaw
but the eggshell social life
she tiptoes through with text talk
or just Thursday’s English test;
either of such moment
to zip-lock lips, furrow brow —
the gaucheness of growing up.
 
Yet see how
her silver earring
catches light.


July Poem of the Month
Woven by Roger Higgins
(respecting Sarah Rive, Speaking bluntly) 

Words plaited with gestures, smiles or scowls 
make our conversations layers deep 

the way a stream weaves a reflection 
with a ripple, fallen leaves with sky 

transparent right through to bedrock. 

Our ancestor stories are fact and fiction 
pulled taut with meanings 

the way country roads 
entangle families 

the way mountain peaks
are sown onto the earth by clouds 

ridgelines held fast by the shadows of trees
tresses of laughter crocheted
with teardrop pearls. 

Remember, some carpets are woven 
with a careful flaw, like a rare kindness. 

Cut me loose?
No, bind me with hessian or satin taffeta, 
keep me close.

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