2022 Open Poetry Results
Congratulations to Carolyn Gillespie for her winning entry
Black Bird-Shaped Hole
Black Bird-Shaped Hole
Like the sleep-drunk teenager back home, in bed,
the dawn is pallid and reluctant.
Edges are still blurred,
and down the lane,
the skeleton beeches seem insubstantial.
I could wipe them away, like fog from my glasses,
if I wanted to.
I am waiting for the dog, who is old and slow,
and on the gatepost, I watch a bird-shaped hole
to see if it is moving.
I want to poke my finger in, to see how far it goes.
I want to feel the vantablack, where something unknown
is doing I don’t know what.
Headfirst, I push inside, gut thrusting like a caterpillar
until I’m all in.
The blackness fills my crevices –
the slither-moons behind my fingernails,
the commas of my nose. There is no breath.
My side-eyes seal shut, the nubs of my ears curl tight.
In the before and the hereafter I am held.
The dog is back, barking for breakfast.
Our breath-clouds blend in the startled air,
and on the gatepost
a blackbird opens his yellow beak, and sings.
2022 Winners
| Position | Title | Author | Download Link (Subject to Availability) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Black Bird-Shaped Hole | Carolyn Gillespie |  |
| 2nd | Calais Pier | Nicholas Hogg | |
| 3rd | One of these days I’ll do like David Hockney | Paul Stephenson | |
| Hilly Cansdale Local Prize | Siren Call | Emilie Jelinek | |
| Highly Commended | Living Grief | Kathryn Bevis | |
| Highly Commended | Two Wood Pigeons | Linda Saunders | |
| Highly Commended | Woodpecker | Kathy Miles | |
| Highly Commended | Yarrow | Lesley Saunders | |
Our thanks go to shortlist team, to Tristram Fane Saunders, our 2022 Open Poetry Judge and to all those entrants who made the competition so tough for the team. The winning entries can be downloaded and enjoyed from the above table.
