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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2022: We met up for Christmas in April
by Nicholas McGaughey
After Christmas lockdown 2020. We met up and had a Xmas dinner, in the yard of an old school, halfway between Rhondda and London where our family live. After presents were opened the kids pretended the van was a sleigh. As they left we waved and felt sad because we'd missed them leaving only their names on tags left behind
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2022: We met up for Christmas in April
last year by an old stone school;
decking our table in the spring sun
halfway between Rhondda and London.
Gala pie was carved for turkey,
jam-cream scones were puddings
and crackers crowned us paper kings.
We clinked sloe-gin lemonades,
swapping gifts, we’d half forgotten
and the kids rode the sleigh of the van,
as if reindeer were pulling them homeward,
their names just tags, left behind.
A special thank you to our WordView 2021 poets.
Chair of the Judging Panel, Joelle Taylor, says: "We were thrilled by the range and scope of the poetry and techniques explored throughout the wide submissions. I have said before that to write a poem is an act of resistance but to then perform it as well is a revolution. It takes a bravery to face the page, and a further one to stand by your words. While we’ve all become more used to filming ourselves over the pandemic, all of us were deeply aware of that courage.
Often when on a judging panel we find ourselves faced with impossible decisions. If you can imagine, after sifting, it’s as though a hundred people have crossed the finish line at precisely the same moment but there are only three medals. How do we come to these decisions? Through the objective unpicking of the poems, through our individual passions, through a consideration of narratives, especially those lesser heard. We come to it through uneasy negotiation and through heart, and above all through our shared love and understanding of the possibilities of poetry.
Our honest applause goes to all who submitted, and I hope you can hear it.
Congratulations to those we selected. We hope to see you all again soon."
See the collectionWatch the full Wordview 2022 playlist