"a treasure trove for writers"
rediscover Saturdays.

The winner of the poetry competition two
was

The Ritual of Summer
by
Carol Witherow

First, the opening of the trunk
with last year's summer clothes – they'll do your sister one more year –
then the pocket money counted up, for Peggy's Legs and Satin Pillows;
and finally the packing, along with dogs and cats and swimming togs
of buckets, spades and tennis bats,
all piled into Dad's new Austin.
On our way to summer joys -
are we nearly there yet?

Pillow fights and spin the bottle,
midnight feasts and jellyfish;

cops and robbers, cowboys, injuns,
hide-and-go-seek in the ocean of sand;

salty fingers wet with vinegar,
lemonade tickling freckled noses;

feral children tucked up in bed,
a capsized sandal on the floor.

Memories like intimations
trace the way back to that time, that state.
If I close my eyes and think of summer, I wonder -
am I nearly there yet?

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Our annual holiday in Bettystown, when we were children, was the highlight of every year for fourteen years. Then, it was a small seaside town 30 miles north of Dublin, a seemingly unfathomable distance at the time. This poem is my thank you for the blissful times we enjoyed then.

more winners here

For lively club discussion on writing and competitions to enter see here.