Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2025: The Female Gaze on The Morning After the Night Shift

by Margaret Rochford

Adversity Change Connection Discovery Empathy Generosity Hope Inspiration Knowledge Power Strengh Surprise Transformation Uncertainty Prose poem Run-on Lines

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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2025: The Female Gaze on The Morning After the Night Shift

Bare-chested,
Jason Momoa opened the door.
His frame filled the frame—
sunlight caught in the dip of his collarbone,
his shoulders the answer
to a question I forgot how to ask.

Twelve hours on the ward,
veins blown,
alarms sang their tired songs—
I smelled of zoflora and burned coffee.
He smelled of man
sandalwood,
salt air,
a reason to keep living.

It was like a dab of sweet perfume
tucked behind the ear—
unexpected,
intimate,
a little miracle
on a godless Wednesday.

I said a forgotten prayer of thanks,
the kind you whisper
when you clock out alive.
He didn’t speak—
just smiled,
like he knew
I had held too many hands
that would never hold again.

And for one long moment,
the world was only
sun on skin,
wind through the hallway,
and a man
too beautiful to be real—
but real enough
to let me believe.

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Margaret Rochford

Margaret is a poet and playwright living in London originally from Co. Kerry Ireland. She is widely published in magazines and journals. she regularly reads at open mike sessions. Margaret has a tortoise called Heaney and he is a great fan of her work.

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Adversity Change Connection Discovery Empathy Generosity Hope Inspiration Knowledge Power Strengh Surprise Transformation Uncertainty

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Prose poem Run-on Lines

A special thank you to our WordView 2025 poets.

Hear from some our winners this year on what the Archive and winning has meant to them:

"I feel deeply grateful to be taking part in the chorus of voices honoured by PAN Worldwide 2025. Leonard Cohen famously sang that “every heart to love will come, but like a refugee.” For me, the same might be said of poetry. I came to the writing of it late, and thank The Poetry Archive for providing the encouragement to continue being brave in sharing it." - Michelle Robin Visser.

"I think it shows the importance of live spoken word to share poetry as equally as the printed word for some audiences." - Steve Harrison.

"Being part of the PAN Worldwide 2025 collection alongside 17 incredible poets from across the globe is both an honour and a reminder of the unifying power of poetry. Moving forward, I think this experience will stay with me, it has encouraged me to continue writing with honesty and openness, and to remember that my voice is part of something much larger than myself." - Panya Banjoko.

See the collection Watch the full Wordview 2025 playlist