Poem of the month

The Poem of the Month for July 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Workshop by Louise Nicholas. The commended poems for July are symmetry by Geoff Atkin and Liquid Golden Days by Fred Willet.

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Workshop
Louise Nicholas

This isn’t the room where TS Eliot watched the women
come and go as they brought him tea, the post, a sheaf
of readers’ reports. It isn’t the room from which he launched
Hughes and Plath, stamped out Orwell like a spot fire
in dry grass. Nor is the roof above this room the one
on which he took his turn on fire watch during the Blitz,
the red glow of a Woodbine keeping pace with his footsteps
back and forth.… Click for more

The Poem of the Month for June 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Greece – A Quintet by Maria Vouis. The commended poems for June are Life by Martin Christmas and Song of the Turbines by Stef Rozitis.

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Greece – A Quintet
Maria Vouis

jade, turquoise, lapis
ganglia of trembling light
the ocean of Greece

sap of cypress pine
redolent glue on fingers
scent travels with me

goat-bell sonata
a jingling scale, up, then down
the clef of Mount Athos

a clutch of nuns chant
vespers in lengthening light
Saint Nicholaos

twist of olive trees
ancient clan at day’s dissolve
twine roots, hum language

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Life
Martin Christmas

What is Life?… Click for more

The Poem of the Month for May 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Washing Day, Burra 1896 by Helen Hutton. The commended poem for May is The Fly by Charlie Madden.

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Washing Day, Burra 1896
Helen Hutton

Like Aurora, she rises
as night’s clouds billow to the east
and the sky is veiled in a violet mantle.

She has stopped counting the dawns
the jagged mornings
since her husband rode
alone to Broken Hill to work
in the candle-dim mines
where days and nights unite.
She wonders, does he think of her?

Mist lifts from the well
floats in the wooden bucket.… Click for more

The Poem of the Month for April 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Some Days I See Bob Dylan in the Mall by Martha Landman. The commended poem for April is Poetry Like Bukowski by Nigel Ford.

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Some Days I See Bob Dylan in the Mall
Martha Landman

Today it’s Allen Ginsberg.
Bob calls him over, they talk Kerouac.
Around them buskers cover a range
from lonesomeness to love for all
but no one sings Dylan in the Mall.
It’s violin, banjo and guitar,
young ones singing Hallelujah.
It’s winter and an idiot wind
howls through the alleys
too early for the city lights to come on.… Click for more

The Poem of the Month for March 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Villages of the Mendip Hills by Pat Lee. The commended poem for March is They Call Me Nana by Sarah Radford.

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Villages of the Mendip Hills
Pat Lee

Somerset Great Britain

To reach the Mendip Hills
we followed roads, mere lanes,
like twirling ribbons across the countryside,
and through autumnal arches
with branches touching tips above the road,
and fluttering leaves, small welcome flags
to villages of my ancestors.
Their low doored cottages still stand,
with roofs of thatch or slate
and front doorsteps of stone, worn down,
now level with the narrow road.… Click for more

The Poem of the Month for February 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Random Thoughts on Love by Jill Wherry. The commended poem for February is Butterfly Steps by Avalanche.

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Random Thoughts on Love
Jill Wherry

I’d like to make love to a teacher.
I’m partial to qualified men;
Unless he’s a tad too judgemental,
Awarding me marks out of ten.

I used to make love to a policeman,
One very attached to his gun.
Though I didn’t enjoy this obsession,
His handcuffs were ever such fun.

I refused to make love to a Santa
So sensibly I knocked him back,
Until he seduced me with presents
And I ended up in the sack.… Click for more