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 2023 – Martha Landman

The Poem of the Month for August 2023, selected by 2023 Anthology Editors, Maria Vouis and Rob Ferris, is Loose-limb Man by Martha Landman The commended poems for August are Haiku & Senryu by Nigel Ford, Cliché Clambake by Veronica Cookson and White Thrift by Geoff Atkin.

Loose-limb Man
Martha Landman

Mother wouldn’t approve.
Not yet old wine, she’d say.
She was taught the virtues of shepherd men
guiding their flock, heavy feet,
calloused hands.
She followed a man of the land,
made good the harshness of his tongue,
watered the trees he planted.
Her virtue woven through sufferance,
a basket holding blame.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – July 2023 – Steve Evans

The Poem of the Month for July 2023, selected by 2023 Anthology Editors, Maria Vouis and Rob Ferris, is Storm by Steve Evans. The commended poems for July are Cast by Fred Willett, Clouds by Michele Slatter  and Mass by Rory Harris.

Storm
Steve Evans

The house is a shattering of wind
and fleeing birds,
its windows shaking in their frames
played like drums in hail-shot rain
as if on the brink of collapse.

How fragile we are in here,
all night paper-thin and fearful,
startled by thundered light
that fractures our brief bravado at a whim
with camera flashes of stunned faces.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – June 2023 – Jules Leigh Koch

The Poem of the Month for June 2023, selected by 2023 Anthology Editors, Maria Vouis and Rob Ferris, is 5.45am Sydney by Jules Leigh Koch. The commended poems for June are unpredicted by Geoff Aitken, Blackbird by Martha Landman  and The Baby Locket by Cary Hamlyn.

5.45am Sydney
Jules Leigh Koch

at an intersection
a few wax-work figures
                                    wait
while traffic-lights juggle three
coloured balls
                       in slow motion

the short life span of dawn
is emptying out
all about me
yet
            it’s not a new day

for the homeless
queueing outside
the Salvos’ soup kitchen

in an alleyway
where the twisted body of sunlight

is climbing a fire escape
one step
                       at a time

I put the space-junk of my thoughts
                                                on pause
and as I drive through the fault-line
of the city

another pedestrian is swallowed
by the subway

unpredicted
Geoff Aitken

it fell today

the idea

that the ocean
was just a cloud

shaking out
its wrinkles

in late rain.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – May 2033 – Jacqui Merckenschlager

The Poem of the Month for May 2023, selected by 2023 Anthology Editors, Maria Vouis and Rob Ferris, is This Empty Space by Jacqui Merckenschlager. The commended poems for May are Lost for Words by Virgil Concalves, Old Lady on the Cliff by Pat Lee  and Sister (excerpt) by Rory Harris.

This Empty Space
Jacqui Merckenschlager

Afterwards, after the weeping, the remembering,
love and laughter trickled into the void.
This empty space was flooded
by family and friends
and a sunshower sparkled on the wattles.

Afterwards they all went back to distant places,
silence and emptiness slipped through cracks
and hid amongst his clothes
and lurked between his books and tools,
while rosellas sipped nectar from the bluegums.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – April 2023 – David Cookson

The Poem of the Month for April 2023, selected by 2023 Anthology Editors, Maria Vouis and Rob Ferris, is Musings on a Chinese Scroll by David Cookson. The commended poems for April are The Old Horns by Ivan Rehorek aka Avalanche and The Piano by Louise Nicholas.

Musings on a Chinese Scroll
David Cookson

Impossible cliffs thrust
into broad-brush clouds,
their conifers clawing naked rock
bereft of bird or life
until bottom left, a sage,
crossing a bridge,
hat, sandals and staff:
five brush strokes
that touch perfection —
remind of other complements;
a curve of throat,
misty crags,
your lips, parted,
just enough,
just before.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – March 2023 – David Cookson

The Poem of the Month for March 2023, selected by 2023 Anthology Editors, Maria Vouis and Rob Ferris, is willy-willy by David Cookson. The commended poems for March are I Come From by Helen Hutton, At the Zoo with a Bush Poet by Jill Wherry and Chatting with Confidence by Michele Slatter.

willy-willy
David Cookson

Hawker, SA

no overture
far out     aloof
on the blue-bush motley
a dervish of dust
dead leaves
dancing only for itself
a fleeting sketch
to drift through memory
in wakeful hours
as an oud years back
pensive
in that Cairo side street
and a blink ago
        scent of desert
                in your hair

I Come From Here
Helen Hutton

after I Am From by George Ella Lyon

I come from a suburb flexing its muscles
waiting to be heard,
from chook sheds, bent Hills Hoists, ice chests,
the milkman on Monday,
and the smell of bread and the baker’s horse.… Click for more

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