Congratulations to: Therese L. Broderick
With: ‘Due Pedali’
Written in response to: In a hushed requite by Liam O’Callaghan
Due Pedali
i.
Without her, the kitchen
is an orchid
losing petals.
ii.
A tile shrinks. A wall slackens.
iii.
From the sink where he stands
echoes –
chords
her hands held
– vanish.
iv.
Window and portal will fade,
v.
old islands outside
yielding pods
fruits
will go mute
if he idles too long
at the faucet.
vi.
i due pedali
vii.
This silver basin.
One teaspoon, resting.
Author’s note: To achieve a ghostly, shimmering sound effect, a pianist presses two pedals – due pedali – at the same time.
Congratulations to: Therese Pace
With: ‘WOMAN’
Written in response to: Hearth by Claire Power
WOMAN
To her, Nature has been kind and cruel.
Fitted her with a heart that walks her
strong, fragile, her soft pulpous endocarp
tender with pain, flexed with resilience.
In her special ordinariness she watches
the world go by; suffers at its hands;
appeases, dispensing with favours like
bucketfuls of rain upon the sidewalk.
A buttress, earthquakes will not shift her.
Grappling, she vigils on midnight fevers;
dims, recedes, draping her corporeity
around her sentiments like a tee shirt.
Her kinkiness has punch. Her dignity
is weighed with mien. She carries creation
on her navel like a pinafore. Man installs
himself in the palace of her heart like
original sin. Because of him she grows
boughs upon trees, reaches for the moon;
dwarfs, thrifting on choices and desires,
learning to soar and nosedive.
Her breasts are milk and honey. On them
she wears her talisman like a scimitar,
her paradox like a broach: lantern,
olive sprig, sponge and kernel stone.
Congratulations to: Lisa J. Sullivan
With: ‘To the Bog of Allen’
Written in response to: Into the Mire by Nigel Rolfe
To the Bog of Allen
You are lonely because
you claim the lonely–
ancient dolmens,
abandoned trackways,
restless folk who fail
to check your depth
before they step.
But I saw that man
who stood on the edge
of your edge
and fell like a domino
into what he thought
was a part of himself.
Your typical lure–
he mistook a water ripple
for a weary mouth
pleading, “Help.”
You have always lain
between two sides
of a thing:
The Liffey–The Shannon.
They feed you
even when you aren’t hungry.
Did you let him rise
because you had no appetite?
Or have you learned to tell
the difference between
those who come to give
and those who come to take?
Dazed with your poison,
I thought he may give in,
but you let him crawl away.
Tell me–has your acidic palate
grown to dislike the taste
of the will of man?
For our final competition we asked you to write us a poem in response to any one of the videos from the project.
To celebrate the truly global nature of The Poetry Project, we ran three parallel competitions with partners in the USA, and the Netherlands as well as with Poetry Ireland in Dublin.
With heartfelt thanks to all who entered. We were overwhelmed with the response, and it has been a very difficult set of descisions for the various judging teams. We have all really enjoyed reading the exciting and inspiring responses to the videos on the Poetry Project.
Click the links to read our winning poems
Announcing our US winner from poets.org
Congratulations to: Lisa J. Sullivan
With: ‘To the Bog of Allen’
Written in response to: Into the Mire by Nigel Rolfe
http://thepoetryproject.ie/poems/into-the-mire-nigel-rolfe-bogspeak-francis-harvey
Announcing our EU winner from poetryinternational.org
Congratulations to: Therese Pace
With: ‘WOMAN’
Written in response to: Hearth by Claire Power
http://thepoetryproject.ie/poems/hearth-claire-power-cothu-gabriel-rosenstock
Announcing our winner from poetryireland.ie
Congratulations to: TBA
With: TBA
Written in response to: TBA