Competition - August 2011Various

Untitled - Martyn Legg

The child’s path is held within the father’s hands
Never does he plan for us to wander
Never does he plan for us to fall
Yet we stumble through misdirection
Stagger from uphill climbs
We so readily step away from guidance
Pursuing darkened routes toward pain and loss
Standing so alone we talk down the very one that would have lead us
Blindly stepping out on unknown paths
Arrogantly leaping towards the darker way
Struggling to be free of all embrace.

Martyn Legg


Hopefullness - Yasmin Mariess

I see hope in those toes,
a journey that starts with one (baby) step.
Will they climb mountains? Who knows. These toes.
Maybe just the mundane, stuff of everyday.
Ballet lessons? Kicking a football? Sand between the toes?
Who knows.
Sweet things, baby toes.

Yasmin Mariess


Perfect Ten ~ For Elanor - John Buchanan

The proud father’s stands,
holding in his hands
a new-born child.
He tickles her feet
with manicured nail
forging a love that’ll never fail.

Fingers dwarf her little feet,
Perfectly formed and complete
Ten tiny toes
In two neat rows
Where they’ll carry her
No one knows.

He runs a finger from toe to heel,
she lets out a tiny squeal
and curls her toes.
In years to come she’ll not know
He holds the moment in his mind
when his love for her was first enshrined,

John Buchanan


Untitled - Jayne Le Couilliard

I made you, I hold you.
My hands so big, your feet so small,
I'm here to hold you whenever you fall.
But for now I just
want to hold you

Jayne Le Couilliard