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 – December 2021: Overture for Winter by David Cookson

Congratulations to David Cookson, winner, November 2021 Poem of the Month, as selected by 2021 FSP Anthology editors, Louise Nicholas and Judy Dally.

And a reminder… any last submissions of poems read during the year at any of Friendly Street’s reading opportunities must be received by December 31, 2021, to be considered for inclusion in the next anthology. You should use the on-line submission form via the following link:
https://friendlystreetpoets.org.au/publications/fsp-annual-anthology/

Overture for Winter by David Cookson

The breeze grows claws,
rakes the ocean with a colder green. 
Sun from a Turner seascape
battles with shadows as I trudge home 
beneath hangdog casuarinas,
my hair matted by salt spray.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – September 2021: After the Cremation by Martha Landman

Congratulations to Martha Landman, winner, September 2021 Poem of the Month, as selected by 2021 FSP Anthology editors Louise Nicholas and Judy Dally.

After the Cremation
by Martha Landman

I polish the copperplate, sing laments to your ashes
until the earth questions the rain, persecuting it
for the myth of peaceful words in a lifeless land.
I’m an empty-handed sailor in a foreign port.
We converse in sign language. I tell your ashes
the nut trees are dry, the pump is broken, the ostrich
next door had two chicks.  I tell them there are days
when even the sea is quiet, unfamiliar with its own undercurrent.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – July 2021: Like, Shakespeare by Gordon McPherson

Congratulations to Gordon McPherson, winner, July 2021 Poem of the Month, as selected by 2021 FSP Anthology editors Louise Nicholas and Judy Dally.

Like, Shakespeare…
by Gordon McPherson

We’re doing Hamlet,
and there’s this dude
called Yorick,
and like, that’s a real name,
so incredulity,
and he’s standing in a grave,
and I’m like, eeeyuuuuw!
and this gross out skull
like in NCIS,
how unsanitation!
and Hamlet
he’s a prince,
and he’s telling Yorick
he’s a lass
and half my head
goes all magic pie 
and the blackbirds
and WTF? 
and the other half
is all mega brill
and clownspray and LOL
and I’m all, like,
where’s the remote?… Click for more

Poems of the Month – July 2021: Steve Evans and Helen Parsons

Congratulations to the joint winners for the July 2021 Poem of the Month: Steve Evans for Epilogue and Helen Parsons for Elizabeth at her Writing Desk, as selected by 2021 FSP Anthology editors Louise Nicholas and Judy Dally.

Steve Evans
Epilogue

As he lay dying,
it was someone else’s life
that flashed before his eyes.
Too late to ask for his money back.
No choice but to watch the show.

A blitzing synopsis of past attractions, 
it included a tall woman
rising from a bath,
whom he might have loved
if he was not himself,
then two small children holding hands
in a garden more tropical than his own
and, in the background, the glare
of a harbour lit by sails.… Click for more

Poems of the Month – May 2021

Congratulations to the joint winners for the May 2021 Poem of the Month: Martin Christmas for Not skimming lightly and Geoff Johnston for Braid, as selected by 2021 FSP Anthology editors Louise Nicholas and Judy Dally.

Martin Christmas
Not skimming lightly

You stand at water’s edge,
Outer Harbor boat ramp.
The water ebbs and flows gently. 

Across the way
the Sea Span New Delhi
loads containers.
Methodically the crane lowers
each container onto the deck.

In India, day by day,
Covid virus deaths methodically rise.

At Outer Harbor, an Indian father
and his 2 kids exit their Nissan sedan
at the top of the ramp.… Click for more

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