Poem of the month

Each month the two FSP editors select a poem, from those read throughout that month, as the poem of the month. A laminated copy of the poem is awarded to the poet at the next FSP City meeting. This is peer recognition of a poem of high quality.

Poem of the Month – August 2025 – Rory Harris

The Poem of the Month for August 2025, selected by 2025 Anthology editors Val Braendler and Ben Adams, is Billy by Rory Harris. The commended poems are Perspective by Michele Slatter, Monopoly by John Atkinson and Today’s Tide by Pat Lee.

Billy
Rory Harris

the schoolyard is empty
the day noises are forgotten
are vaulted tight
each morning explodes its own celebration
its own defeat
in the smallness
in the greatness
of a universe
carried at the end of fingers
from canteen to classroom
where children arrive hungry

the moon floats behind clouds
like a toy
the neons buzz
blink from rocks thrown up
from dares
that did not explode them

shadows dance on the empty oval
ghosts of children
who once attended
hushed in the background

a mile away the highway churns
cars pull through the night
in both directions
drivers carry thoughts
into the darkness
steered along a thread of light
like a vein

Billy springs down the street
leaps over the fence
treads over the flower beds & lawns
it’s too early to leave footprints circled with dew
his head bobs out of the collar
of his turned-up jacket
a face full of freckles
hair like the sun
legs pistoned, hips & ground
he’s cat-like, mouse-like
the nervous creak of the school gate
nothing disturbs him
he ticks like a bomb
hands pulled in close to his body
he begins a shuffle
like a prisoner, like a drunk
who’s spent a life time acquiring a gait
& now almost never falls

Billy blends into the shadows
sleeks around the buildings
turns over a rubbish bin
scrambles up
peers into his classroom’s darkness
pulls back his sleeves
turns his hands into fists
into hammers
his breath stops
he punches the glass
the noise muffled by a scream
he pulls back
his breath comes with the shock
pain with the blood
with the ripping of flesh
arms opening
after the explosion
he jams them into pockets
the red oozing from flaps of skin with cloth
his body spins
starts into a run
the drunkenness of adrenaline flash
he turns into red light
the blood seeps out of his coat
leaves prints across the quadrangle
his feet kick into the night
as he bursts through
into the street’s silence
his blood absorbs the darkness
he hasn’t time for tears

Perspective
Michele Slatter

Thank you, Miss Carney, Miss Conway, Sister Ebba,
Mrs Daniels, Miss Kilmartin, Sister Cuthbert, Mrs Del.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – July 2025 – Roger Higgins

The Poem of the Month for July 2025, selected by 2025 Anthology editors Val Braendler and Ben Adams, is Vital Statistics by Roger Higgins. The commended poems are autumn’s last day by David Cookson, Is It Love by Maeve Archibald and For the One I Have Become by Doris Nickolas.

Vital Statistics
(or Working in Winter in Kazakhstan)
Roger Higgins


Expect minus twenty-seven, feels like minus thirty-three,
I am decked out in thermals and multiple layers,
cheekbones feeling like thin glass
that would shatter at a touch.

And we are already below forecast
without counting the chill of a wind
piling snow to the rooflines of the few buildings
the window glass displaying in strata
the past week’s weather.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – June 2025 – phil saunders

The Poem of the Month for June 2025, selected by 2025 Anthology editors Val Braendler and Ben Adams, is Enter Rapture by phil saunders. The commended poems are i only dream when i’m asleep by Geoff Aitkin, Patterns of Being by Margaret Fensom and The Homeless Man’s Dog by Maria Koukouvas.

Enter Rapture
phil saunders

enter rapids steamboat stability
romance blossoms in face of competition
flowers chocolate wine sideways glances
coffee
sweet kisses deny pretence
softly softly into the night
lovers’ steps shimmer united
lovers’ steps sparkle in step
eyes
lovers’ steps gleam
early hours
disorientation of place
sunlight through window an omen

darkness descends
spot rain fog diminishes viewpoints
trucks sound moody horns
fires and slippers inside
mood overtakes into tears
seek comfort does the bell toll for thee
doors open to opportunity
walk the lane should you dare
walk the cobbles slide over the smooth
walk the cobbles should you care
future steps fix the date
rain drops intermittent will not disturb
tears unbidden rest below for their time
walk the cobbles when you dare
walk the cobbles when you care
the finish is your rapture if you care to dare
the finish is your rapture if you dare to care

open the curtain
your love talks through the panes
language I know not for Cupid’s barbs to accompany
sailing boats and steamships wait
tug boats guide delivery
wild seas will not hinder finding motion across the calm

carousel roundabouts Cupid rides the circus
elephants and clowns as his handmaidens for the task
no need for ringmasters
audiences will applaud Cupid’s finesse
in awe of his capture of language

strong slow the wind
variations dip weave curve the air
drive tears to the surface
join wind’s raindrops
carve a path into heart’s homeland
dispel shadows for all who inhabit
make steps without fear
make short long journey home
strong slow the wind for another lifetime

Enter Rapture prepared with notes taken during a performance of the Australian String Quartet: Beethoven String Quartet No.11 in F Minor, Op.95, Serioso; Perica String Quartet No.1, No Feeling is Final; Janacek String Quartet No.2, Intimate Letters; Golijov Tenebrae for string quartet.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – May 2025 – Rory Kennett-Lister

The Poem of the Month for May 2025, selected by 2025 Anthology editors Val Braendler and Ben Adams, is Sestina for Ankylosing Spondylitis by Rory Kennett-Lister. The commended poems are Under obs by Louise Nicholas, Pre-dawn April night by David Bailles and Gazan cull by Murray Alfredson.

Sestina for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Rory Kennett-Lister

Descending the station stairs the light
Shifts from pure sun to fluorescent pulse.
A rush of panicked wind. I make my way
Deeper underground. The train wails from the dark
Along rusted, aging tracks that thread
Beneath the city like screaming nerves. 

Stepping through the yawning doors my nerves
Fire, shooting blind, a flailing light
From hips to back.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – April 2025 – Roz Schulz

The Poem of the Month for April 2025, selected by 2025 Anthology editors Val Braendler and Ben Adams, is The Art of Saving by Roz Schulz. The commended poems are limbo by Barbara Preston, Abandon Yourself to Mozart by Susan O’Brien and In the Vicinity of a Love Poem by Steve Evans.

The Art of Saving
Roz Schulz

They were the last on the butcher’s run, mid north,
dry hot summer, horse and cart, no refrigeration.
The bonus some leftover cuts, jokes with the butcher
and a flagon of wine into the sunset.
His wife cooked the week’s meat straight away –
His mind and soul were fashioned the way he beat
mugs out of tins, scrolled over the sharp top edge,
but you could still cut your lip on it.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – March 2025 – Helen Hutton

The Poem of the Month for March 2025, selected by 2025 Anthology editors Val Braendler and Ben Adams, is Cold Case by Helen Hutton. The commended poems are Taking the Master Class by Nigel Ford, 3 x H20 by Bruce Greenhalgh and Ends and Soapbubbles by Avalanche.

Cold Case
Helen Hutton

i
Night is crisp as a nurse’s bib
and the bench seat in the old Holden
cold and narrow like an ambo’s gurney …
there’s me – look – pressed against the passenger door
      no handle,       no window winder      no escape.
He strokes the column shift
sweat glistens on the ginger hairs
on the back of his hand, saliva pools
in the corner of his mouth …
No need to sit over there, city Sheila.… Click for more

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