The Poem of the Month for February 2026, selected by 2026 Anthology editors Elizabeth Salna and Erica Jolly, is Semaphore Jetty by Fred Willett. The commended poems are Escape by Nigel Ford, Some thoughts of somebody who hasn’t sailed solo around the world by Bruce Greenhalgh, The Doc Said by Susan O’Brien and Final crossing by Valerie Volk.
Semaphore Jetty
Fred Willett
Mum died
She’d gone years before, of course
An empty husk
A house long deserted. No one inside
We took her ashes to Semaphore Jetty on a crystal day
Ice wind. Kites flying
Kids on the carousel
And let her go gently into the turtle water
To start her next journey
Escape
Nigel Ford
With the staccato fire of the machine guns overhead
and the rumbling of heavy artillery in the distance
I bunker down prepared to ride out the storm
as flashes of brilliant light blind me through my window
but despite this cacophony of violence surrounding me
far removed from the company of family in our old home
I am at peace with the situation I find myself in
My fingers kneading the armrests of my recliner
I listen to the rain on the tin roof of my new house
the music of my own song
an anthem to new found independence
and escape from their quarrels
Some thoughts of somebody who hasn’t sailed solo around the world
Bruce Greenhalgh
I could fly to Rome;
I won’t.
Instead of going to London
I went to the shops,
bought some mustard.
That saved a trip to Dijon.
Rio, ‘Frisco, Acapulco, Oslo, Tokyo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Not on my radar – O.
I don’t have to travel
to complain about bad food, poor service, lousy accommodation, impossible traffic…
I can get all that here.
Anyway, I need to do something about my front window.
It doesn’t close properly.
Familiar things,
they’re such a comfort.
The Doc Said
Susan O’Brien
The Doc said:
“Never put anything smaller
than your elbow
in your ear.”
The Doc said my knee
had a lot of history
but not much future…
The Doc said:
“If you cut off your finger when killing a chook
make sure it doesn’t get eaten
pack it in ice
and don’t forget to bring it with you!”
The Doc said:
“We’re all in this together!”
I liked that
but it didn’t fix my flu…
The Doc said:
“I know it’s hard:
if the kids are all sick
and you’re late with your essay
I’ll write you a certificate.”
The Doc said:
“Never eat anything bigger than your head
get a smaller plate
and save the best ’til last.”
The Doc said:
“To stop the hiccups
take a breath then swallow four times
before the next breath.
It never fails.”
The Doc said:
“Life’s a sexually transmitted fatal condition
We’re only here for an instant
so don’t mess it up!”
Final crossing
Valerie Volk
Dim phantom figures loom.
Outlines that waver
as I peer, desperate to see
faces from the past.
A haze. Wisps and threads
that interweave, then separate.
No certainties, no matter
how I struggle to discern
familiar figures.
Long gone, but yet I yearn
to conjure their return.
I stand beside that chasm
longing to be with them.
But fearful. When some day –
for it must come – my feet
take faltering, reluctant steps,
knowing there is no more choice,
my only route is that last journey
through darkness and across the bridge
that joins my world and theirs.
An undiscovered bourne indeed.
What will I find beyond.