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Mary MacRae’s second collection
published Aug 10 by Second Light Publications. See order form (pdf file) for discount offers
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Round 10, Month 9: Wendy French is our judge this month. Her Winner is Helen Ivory, for her poem Bluebeard and the Chef. Her four commended poemsa re by Janet Lees, Gill McEvoy, Jane McLaughlin and Kathleen M Quinlan.
You coax the rabbit from its skin,
cradle the bruised flesh ripped with shot.
A deft incision and soon the tiny heart
is in your hand, its stillness
opens up a dark hole in the sky for you.
You climb inside
and all the stars are dying eyes
fixed into you like pins.
So you slice each optic nerve
and disappear.
The knife completes your hand
with such sweet eloquence
you part recall its amputation
when you were wordless
in your father’s house.
from Waiting For Bluebeard, 2013, Bloodaxe Books.
Judge’s comment:
Helen Ivory’s poem, Bluebeard and the Chef, had my vote for its highly original title and first line that meant I was captured by the poem immediately and knew it was going to take me into a surreal world where I would rather not be. Engaging and disturbing and a well-crafted piece of writing.
Bang-Bang, by Janet Lees
Glass Bird in a Shop Window, by Gill McEvoy
The Lacemaker Travels to Seville, by Jane McLaughlin
Flight from the Countryside, by Kathleen M Quinlan
