Southside Wellbeing Festival
We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2024 open competition, judged by the festival organisers.
They are:
Allan H.,
Martin Goldie
- Martin for the second year in a row! -
both members of City of Poets,
and Val Waldron.
They will each be reading their selected work
at the closing event of the Southside Wellbeing Festival at Finn's Place
on Sunday September 8, from 2pm
Submissions for Southside Wellbeing Festival poems were open to anyone, and closed on August 1, 2024.
Entries focused on the theme of wellbeing in the context of urban life.
Poems needed to be 42 lines or fewer, and when read aloud take no longer than 4 minutes, maximum.
Entry is free.
Winners are paid £25 and are sharing their work at the closing event
on Sunday afternoon, September 8th.
For City of Poets Members, winners work is also included in the Glasgow City of Poets Annual Review 2024.
Entries are welcomed in English and in Scots.
Entries were emailed to us as a word, open office or PDF attachment.
The subject line of the email was SOUTHSIDE WELLBEING and only SOUTHSIDE WELLBEING.
Festival organisers selected three poets from the entries.
The following three poems, on the theme of WELLBEING, were performed at the festival launch on Friday 1 September, 2023 at
Finn's Place
167 Ledard Rd, Glasgow G42 9QU
This year's winners will be uploaded to the website after the event on September 8.
Self-Care
© Suzy Berry, 2023
I gaze upon the walrus narrated by David Attenborough
feeling renewed by this nature documentary pause in busting Edinburgh.
in comfortable trousers I conduct my yoga practice in earnest
before getting deep and philosophical
chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo as a Buddhist internist
Seeing the SGI as truly anthroposophical.
I feel my third eye opening as I play with reiki it’s purely logical.
With the taste of a self-made delicious burrito my joy does multiply
Along with the globules of avocado that I always apply
I use vegan cheese to gel my creation together
It makes me happy whatever the weather.
using a slightly dogged notebook I take time to do my journaling
and begin to feel all my worries unburdening
I put myself forward as an extra to work with the Warner Bros Association
And get excited to be picked for Batgirl’s creation.
Because I know how exciting life is when you say yes to everything
And feel enticed by what life may bring.
That said when my hair is looking like a bedraggled haystack
and 3 days working on a festival marquee has me picking up flack;
after I’ve trundled to my tent to find the seepage of rainwater
has ruined my favourite socks the ones with the cute otter
there is nothing more enticing than just letting be
fantasizing about a flock duvet and watching some cable TV.
The Healing has Begun
© Martin Goldie, 2023
Fled from broken world’s bleak pain
from broken glass and broken dreams
and loveless world’s empty words,
drawn she went in glint of sunlight beam,
strong in rare day’s gay abandon,
wild in wounded childlike skip and hop
through lea’s scented wildflower splash,
to amber world’s long missed healing hush.
Before the breeze her pained hand stretched
to grasp for hope or love or both
or just the chance of brief escape
from mere existence,
in flights fleeting ceasefire
in thoughtless moment free of woe,
the healing has begun.
Nouricin Masel
© Keeks Mc, 2023
Ah ken ma mind weel
but Ah’m aye aiger tae be feckfu
an fin the want tae tak it an sprint
- the keenest, the fastest
Aifter fowerty year Ah’ve waukent
an seen the licht
Ah cannae poor fae a tuin snippy
an aye pooshion ma bluid
wi fixes o sugar, caffeine an booze
The wey forrit is wan troke at a time
mense an lint
Wile awa the meenits in luve
no angst
an stap gein a tuppney damm
aboot the wee things