The Winner of the Poetry Competition 2020

1st Prize

Alison Reed

Tango for Two

He - broad sashed,
Skintight black and white,
She in gin bottle green
A colour she knows intimately.
Featherlight, her hand
Rests on his shoulder
As she’s caught
Unresisting and neck-nuzzling
In his cuddle hold.

With every sense alert,
His black eyes
Challenge possible predators.
Then with arms outstretched,
His fingers cradle hers,
Deceptively gentle.
A rapid head shake surveys the room
And her leg sweeps a wide arc
Twisting her body.

He licks his lips
Inhales deeply and
Plots his path.
As one sinuous, entwined body
They weave across the floor
In abrupt, wary glides.
A satiny inner thigh
Practiced in detection
Caresses his upper leg.

Satisfied he has coins in his pocket, she dances on
Knowing their fidelity will last
For just as long as the music plays.

 

Alison R Reed works in schools and has been writing for 20 years. One of her novels reached the finals in an international Book Award competition. She has recently turned to poetry and had several poems included in local anthologies. She is an active Committee Member of Walsall Writers’ Circle.