The winners of the Poetry Competition
have been announced
Adult winner :
Lesley Saunders, November
2011
Sculpsit
Fragment 1600 in city wall between west
and south gates
(from Collingwood’s Roman Inscriptions of
Britain: Bath)
Before anything else,
in broad-brush whitewash
paint her name, its slants
and uprights – angle
is everything. Then find
the rhythm, so the mallet
knocks like the beat
of a heart, yours, hers.
The chisel’s metal bites
on limestone, setting
your teeth on edge
with the petrifying thicks
and thins of it, splinters
of rock fly like confetti,
serifs and glyphs
beginning to glint
in the glacial Britannic sun.
You spell her out
letter by perfect letter
carved and kerned to fit
the space you’ve kept for her
…ULIA….ILIA…
Her VIXIT ANNOS XXX
waiting in the stone.
‘Vixit annos XXX’ = she died aged 30.
Winner under 16 years:
Eloise Yeadon Caiger (age 11),
November 2011.
The water of Sulis
Minerva
The water is the spit of a devil,
Treated by the gods,
Still hot to the touch as it swirls
around,
But no longer full of the devil’s curses,
It is filled with bubbles rising up,
The breath of Sulis Minerva,
It is filled with steam floating around,
The voice of Sulis Minerva,
And as your spirit flies in to the world of
fairies, beasts and gods,
Let the steam engulf you, swallow you,
Let your soul journey far beyond your
dreams,
To the land of Sulis Minerva.
Left to right: Judge Dr Carrie Etter, Winner
Lesley Saunders and Roman Baths Manager Stephen Clews
Highly
commended poems can be downloaded here.