Christmas poetry competition 2023

Remember What We’ve Lost

Delicate threads of light explore walls and fences high, But none more dazzling than the stars littering the night sky. As if they shed a power of pure hope and light, A gentle fall of snow elevates the night. A mosaic of fallen leaves, all limned with frost, With veins of crystalline shards, each detail embossed. A steady growth of moss clambers u leafless trees, Adorned with a coat of frost – shelter from the breeze. A gleeful group leaves a bar, laughing without care, Smiles so bright they almost rival the moon’s stare. They step on salted paths, avoiding the white sheen Not noticing its glimmer; this may be the last one seen. Summer came and went – hotter, this year, than ever. Winter returns in its stead but brings no sparkling snowfall. The gaze of stars cannot pierce the thick clouds That lie lazily over this cumbersome scene. A bird call in the distance, perhaps imagination There’s almost no fauna left in this once wild nation. No need to smother the roads in salt But still its heady scent hangs heavy in the air. Mud clings to the feet trampling over it, Which carelessly devour any remaining frost Wilful enough to grow in this negligent age On the once-glistening field that had been so fair. People cower in houses, fires crackling in hearths With plumes of black smoke erupting gravely above As the snow melts and frost slips away The sun sets on a winter once loved But too easily forgotten by all.

The winter of once is broken, forgotten. Who will remember all that we’ve lost?

By Heather Young