Poetry

Competitions

Bridport Poetry Prize 2016

The Devotional

Having visited Scafden, I feel us at Pikeshill
are a different widowkind, not so moved
upon, more praiseful and less deeding.

This village supplied five bills and four bows,
all foot dragging their way war-ward.
We cold-a-bed now, husbands to ourself.

I read our stones every Sunday, the flowers
spray woodbined and cornflower, reveal
nothing. Still we steadfast, hymning beneath.

We all child left, some hands, others little
more than mouths, still voiceless, milk
hungry, mewling deep into moonlight.

Five days a week we straw split and plait.
Saturdays at dawn sharp we start bundling
marketward and haggle up to duskish.

But come May these hands will clasp Scafden
callous to Pikeshill callous and we young-girl-footed
will dance in showered sun, light as lambs.
One widowkind, ribbon weaving our ungreyed hair.

Highly Commended – Judged by Patience Agbabi

Bristol Poetry Prize 2015

Selkie

Only a certain type of man continues
to whistle in the kitchen and ignore
the moon-pull and tide-rise which cause
the seas to breach the walls of her eyes.

The kind of man who buys new clothes
when she refuses to wear the ones she owns
ignoring the cycle that causes cloth
to grate like sand against her skin.

A man whose love is so like a net
she is unable to flick from thought
to thought like a fish among friends,
both guided and guiding, shoaling as one.

Only a man like me could truly forget
which rock I’d buried her skin beneath.

Highly Commended – Judged by Penelope Shuttle

Published in Print

Bitch Scent published 2016 in Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual 2016

Adoption published 2015 in the anthology Hunger Poetry by Mud Press

Blue Max Review 2013

Kids published 2012 in the anthology Musings on Mothering, by Mothers Milk Books

Fishers of Men published 2011 in the anthology Not Only the Dark by Categorical Books

The Anarchist published 2008 by Underground Poetry

Published Online

Operation published June 2015 at Antiphon

Robot Wars published April 2015 on The Rain, Party & Disaster Society

Creation published 9th December 2013 on ink, sweat and tears

Tomatoes published 1st September 2013 on Kim Moore’s Sunday Blog

T.S.Eliot Takes the Turing Test published Spring 2012 in Antiphon

Of Books published 2010 by The Ghazal Pages

The Sloven’s Assistant published 2010 by The Ghazal Pages

Like This published October 2009 by The Ghazal Pages