I’m very happy to have my poem Lampedo included in the Newcastle Poetry Prize Anthology. It’s great to see a competition committed to the long form. There are many fantastic examples in this collection of poems that examine the layers and shifts within emotions. Nothing is simple and the long form gives us a chance to dig into the complexities.
Once Wild is available from the Hunter Writers Centre
Here’s an extract from Lampedo
Night of the warriors
On the night your one-breasted warriors
came across the hill, we were a city
acquiescent. Half-alive shamblers,
well-meaning brick-buyers camped mute
in row upon row of cold terraces, waiting
to be delivered from our stale flesh.
The battle was short. We fell at a touch.
In the fox-mist blown from your lungs,
warriors sliced our city tongues and licked
us bloodless. Your Amazonian sisters
plundered a few febrile hours. At dawn, only
you remained. I rose with the mark of your hair
in my fist.
Rico Craig 