At Seventeen by Patrick Osada
Arts Richmond
Online - 17 September 2020

Planning an escape
from a sea of houses –
net-curtained inglenooks for tidy lives;
bingo, betting shop,
fish 'n' chips for Friday
somewhere to live: a place to die.
Slippery the stepping stones
where footsteps falter
(see them leading to the other side?)
take the only way
through the rush of water
nimbly trip to the other side.
From the meadow-side –
sunshine and celandines –
grassy slopes reach a granite incline,
barren mountain track
past the stunted heather:
scale the summit for peace of mind.
The path through Eldritch Wood
remains uncharted,
menacing trees screen the skulking troll,
armed with garlic flower,
a crucifix and logic
destroy them all or lose your soul.
Ice-cold the waterfall
veiling the entrance
of the passageway to the cave of gold,
plunge past the cataract,
storm the raging waters,
claw doggedly to your chosen goal.
from ABOUT TIME, the 2019 anthology of shortlisted entries from The Roger McGough Poetry Prize. Copies of this Anthology can be purchased for £5 including P&P from Arts Richmond.
At Seventeen by Patrick Osada
EGM and AGM
Wednesday 2 December 2020, 19:30
Online via Zoom
Young Writers Festival Competition
The Roger McGough Annual Poetry Prize 2020
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