Competition

First Prize

Black and White Princess
by Scarlett McLean

I stumble in late
Catching a glimpse of nanny in her glory days
A princess in satin and tulle
The photo is faded
I'll visit her. Tomorrow, when I'm ready.

You enter by pressing buttons 4623#
A long hallway of lemon fresh cleaning agents
looms ahead of you.
Names on locked doors
Elsie. Aldyth, Winsome. Ruby
Bygone names.

The fountain pours into a sea of grey hair
Spectacles and hearing aids swim in this ocean of sadness.
Once dressed for their first dance
Now wearing flannel shirts and slippers
Faded red cardigans float by
Hush puppies shuffle the sand-coloured linoleum floor.

Pat travels from here to there with her ancient beauty case
Sitting on a blue recliner
Misty memories glaze her eyes.
Ezi-wipe vinyl dining chairs come into view.
Smells of apricot crumble waft from the kitchen
While trays of supper
Indistinguishable morsels
Mashed like baby food
Weigh down optimistic nurses.

There are no memories
Only bedside photos of strangers
Standing alone on neat mass-produced tables.
Snapshots in black and white.
Single artefacts of a life gone by
like an echo…
Slowly disappearing.

Second Prize

Lost
by Tameika Greenaway

Pressing her hands on her ears
She blocks the screams surrounding,
The silence consumes her.

Tensing every muscle
She shudders violently
Disturbing the still, serene world.

Closing her eyes tightly
Erasing all remaining light
She shivers in her personal darkness.

Her fists clenched desperately
Nails digging palms - drawing blood
Crushing the sun in her hands.

Grasping for stolen innocence
Like glimpsing stars beyond city lights
She loses it - she is lost.