Poetry and Creative Writing for All

The Top 5 Poems of the Month

July 2004

Our winning poet for July is Jane Tomlin.
Read Jane Tomlin's biography and more of her poems (coming soon!)

The Sea

 Your voice is haunting as your great waves crash onto the sandy beaches.
Beneath your foaming surface a whole new world awaits.
The sand between my toes is comforting.
I dip my body under to discover the open doorway of your world.
Only to be shocked by the extent of our destruction.

Slowly emptying barrels pour out jet-black oil.
A cloud of it approaches me. I gasp for air and your black salty substance
fills my lungs. The oil is coating the inside of my throat.
As I take one last look at your peril and see the dead inhabitants of you
I make one last attempt to reach the surface before slowly floating to reach the murky
depths of yourself where I shall lie for eternity in my watery grave.

Yet I must thank the sea for giving me such a vision of how it is being
devastatingly destroyed, as this was the last realisation of the cruelties
of man and our need to struggle to save it, before I died in the arms of the sea.

Your voice shall roar no more.

Jane Tomlin

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Here are the other four poems chosen by our imprint editors as winning poems for July. All other poems submitted for the Top 5 Poems of the Month for July are being considered for various anthologies.

Open Your Eyes

Carry on walking, don't turn around
You just keep smiling, you don't see their frown
Society so cruel, it doesn't accept
Pick at the wounds, when we should protect
A young child so hungry, an old man in pain
We carry on walking, because we're afraid?
To open our eyes, see just how we're living
Forever taking, never giving
Emotionally, battered and bruised
Holding so tight, still standing confused
Every lie, sugar-coated to swallow
But soon enough, sickness is to follow
Doing so wrong, for all the right reasons
Dying in pain, still somehow breathing
Open your eyes, we can make a change
Turn their frown to a smile, don't walk away.

Jennie Hope-Kirk

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Paint Me a Sunset

Find me a haven, peaceful and calm,
Enfold me in kindness with sweet gentle charm.
Show me tranquillity - a deep midnight blue sky
abundant with starlight, the moon hanging high.

Allow me the freedom to weep for a while.
offer compassion - encourage a smile,
Paint me a sunset, vibrant and bold,
flooded with scarlet, surrounded with gold.

Take the frustration, my anger and tears,
Gather the sadness, the worries and fears,
Cast them aside before they resume
their mission to cause dark depression and gloom.
Replace them with gladness, my spirit to raise,
Faith, trust and hope I will meet face to face.

Janice Mitchell

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Welcome Home

I am tall in stature and have a stately stance,
Turn the key, look at me, will you take a chance?
Can you feel the warmth of love, will you be a part?
Come inside, look around, walk into my heart.

I welcome you with open arms to say a warm hello,
Do we have a future, will you stay or go?
My key can be your happiness, if you use it well,
I will be your confidante, these walls will never tell.

I've seen a thousand heartaches, shared a billion joys,
Watched the birth of infant, little girls and boys.
Soaking up their laughter, blotting up each tear,
I've tried to envelope them, to blanket them from fear.

I've loved ten generations, seen angels rise above,
I'm echoing their happiness with memories of their love.
I have so many secrets, I'm bursting at the seams,
Let me be your sanctuary, the castle of your dreams.

If there is a bond between us, I can be your home,
I can be your castle, my roof your thunder dome.
You will be the ruling queen of all that you survey,
I am worth the mortgage, take my deeds, please stay.

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God Made You

God made you to make me smile
Forever, not just for awhile.
He made your light shine so bright
That you'd always be beautiful in my sight.

God made you so I'd have someone to love
Fitting each other's lives perfectly like a glove.
He made your eyes meet mine
Knowing together we'd be just fine.

God made you a gentle soul
So when you loved you'd eternally feel whole.
He made your heart see me
Knowing in love we'd always be.

God made you to give me a reason to live
So my heart could learn to give.
He gave you the sparkle in my eyes
Because He knew that kind of love never dies.

Vanessa Crawford

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To submit a poem to the online competition email
inbox@forwardpress.co.uk
Please include Top 5 Poems in the subject line of your email.