Lucy Vickery

Twister

In Competition No. 3106 you were invited to submit a poem with an ingenious twist at the end. This challenge, a popular one, was deceptively tricky and while there were many accomplished and enjoyable entries, none of your twists truly blew my socks off. Douglas G. Brown, Max Gutmann and Martin Elster were unlucky runners-up. The six below take £25 each.
 

The deadly battle is renewed each morning;
The enemy, entrenched within the field,
Defeated for a while at each day’s dawning,
Regroups by night, yet I shall never yield.
 
I arm myself with blades that need no honing
To face the war that must be fought each day,
Steeling myself against the anguished groaning
And cries of pain that permeate the fray.
 
Blood must be shed; the slicing and the gashes,
The foamy mass that falls upon the ground,
The cuts and thrusts, the sallies and the clashes,
The blackened stumps that tumble all around.
 
A time may come when shaving’s done by laser;
Till then, I’m stuck with this confounded razor.
Derek Robinson
 
He nibbled the lobe of her cowrie-like ear
while whispering words no one else was to hear,
‘The skin is so smooth, it’s like silk on my lips,’
and he nuzzled her ear with affectionate nips.
‘What joy! I’m enchanted,’ he took a small bite,
‘so perfectly formed — yes, an aural delight:
like the shell of an oyster, it’s pearly inside,
those provocative coils leave me helpless,’ he sighed.
‘There are so many facets I want to explore
in the delicate organ I’ve come to adore;
it’s all that is left of the breaker of hearts —
I’ve disposed of the rest of her bodily parts.’
Sylvia Fairley
 
I’m honoured as a lifelong friend to praise the bridegroom, Ben,
And tell the bride I know her man will outshine other men.
Though most expect the Best Man’s speech to tarnish and subvert
The bridegroom’s reputation and to dish up all the dirt
On past misdeeds, immortal sins and all his wayward ways,
The bride will be surprised to hear I offer only praise.





































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