2020 POETRY COMPETITION WINNER
Prize: £1,000
Theme: Poetry with a Sense of Place
Finalists:
‘Popcorn’ Tamunobelema Wellington
‘Autumn Orange Groves’ Sally Jane Tate
‘38 Rivers Drive’ Alexa Rivers
‘He Gives Me a Pear from His Garden’ Jacqueline Schaalje
‘Sense of Place’ Neetika Walter
and the winner is…
Sally Jane Tate
Autumn Orange Groves
The day sinks and drags all the fire,
Down to the sea,
Washes ember red and smoky pink,
To wet, night sky,
Makes pyres of stalks and earth and weeds.
But in the groves the oranges burn,
Small suns that turn,
And fall to earth.
With zesty scent of summer.
Reminding me, the world still spins,
That safe within their pithy flesh,
Small seeds begin to stretch and sigh.
Spring will arrive, despite the dark,
And in the deadness of the winter,
I’ll peel back the skin,
Citrus blooms upon my lips,
The juice of summer,
Dripping,
Softly through my fingers.
About our winner…
Sally is an aspiring poet, originally from the United Kingdom, who has lived in a variety of Mediterranean countries. She loves the Mediterranean landscapes and seascapes and enjoys exploring them through cycling, hiking and diving. She is currently based in Marsaskala, Malta and is working on a collection of poems about the connections between nature and the people she sees around her. In her free time she also likes to cook, run and attempt to improve her Spanish.