Mary McElroy, Enniskillen
The judges thought the first and last lines were fantastic. It sticks in the mind with a clever use of analogy and neat construct. They loved the narrative ark from the pregnancy test to the body bag.
Blue
(For David).
You’re a thin blue line on a pregnancy stick.
It’s love at first sight,
The blueness of right
Of light
Of skies
Your eyes
Of shy
Your smile.
The blueness of sighs
Of cries
Of whys.
The blueness of sad
The blueness of bad
The blueness of a thin line in a blue body bag.