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Poetry Kit International Competition 2025
Judges Report for the Poetry Kit International
Poetry Competition 2025
The Poetry Kit International Poetry Competition this
year presented a wide range of compelling voices, with entries spanning various
themes, tones, and poetic styles. The poems that made it to the top positions
demonstrated not only technical skill but also a strong emotional and
intellectual resonance. Below are the results of the contest and a brief
overview of the winning poem and the runner-up.
This year’s entries illustrate the vibrancy and depth
of contemporary poetry. While “Leaving” and “Silk” stood out for
their emotional resonance and exquisite imagery, the other commended and highly
commended poems also contributed to the overall richness of the contest. The
diversity of themes, styles, and voices is a clear reflection of the many ways
poetry can touch, reflect, and challenge our understanding of the world.
If you are interested in receiving a detailed critique of
your poem entered into the contest (or another poem) this will be provided for a
fee of £5 you can use this link
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=869TLY37TBSQ4
to pay the fee. When this is done please send an email
together with the poem you want the critique for to
info@poetrykit.org
We will critique 3 poems for £10 use this link
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=QGCPJYDZNXGMJ
for this offer and again send your poems to the
address above. James will respond to each of you personally with a potent and
detailed critique of your poem or poems indicating strengths and and areas for
development.
Winning Poem: Rachel Chook – "Leaving"
Rachel Chook’s “Leaving” claimed the top spot
for its delicate and emotionally charged depiction of departure. The poem’s
quiet, almost meditative tone allows readers to feel the weight of leaving—not
through dramatic moments, but through subtle imagery and reflective pacing. By
focusing on the moments after the door closes, Chook captures both the physical
and emotional space between departure and acceptance. The use of
personification, such as the house “settling into its quiet bones,” deepens the
emotional impact, emphasizing that leaving is not just a movement but an
emotional transition that takes place slowly, over time.
The poem’s reflective pace is complemented by its
sensory details—the “phone” and “coat that smelled like winter”—which root the
poem in the tangible, while its broader metaphors of space and memory leave room
for interpretation, making it universally relatable.
Leaving by Rachel Chook
The door did not slam.
It closed the way lungs
close
after a long breath.
The house held its silence—
cups cooling on the
counter,
a chair remembering
the shape of someone who once stayed.
I stood there longer than I admit,
hand on the
knob,
as if the wood might speak.
But leaving rarely argues.
It simply waits
until
the body understands
what the heart refuses.
Outside,
the evening arranged itself around me:
streetlights flickering awake,
the sky folding its blue
into darker cloth.
I carried little—
a phone,
a coat that smelled
like winter,
the faint echo of your laughter
caught somewhere in my
sleeve.
Behind me
the house settled
into its quiet
bones.
Ahead,
the pavement stretched out
with the
patience of rivers.
I walked.
And with every step
the rooms grew smaller,
the
windows dimmer,
until the place we once lived
became only a light
I
could no longer reach.
Second Place Poem: Matine Shelk – "Silk"
Matine Shelk’s “Silk” earned second place with
its understated beauty and tactile imagery. The poem explores the arrival of
morning through soft metaphors, with light described as “a pale thread” and time
itself as a patient, unfolding fabric. The delicate, almost ethereal tone
creates a sense of calm, drawing the reader into a quiet, intimate moment of the
day. Shelk’s use of silk as a metaphor for time and light is not only original
but also highly effective, evoking a sense of slowness and patience.
While “Silk” is less emotionally intense than
“Leaving”, it nonetheless captures the beauty of a simple moment, making
it a deserving runner-up. Its quiet reflection on time, light, and the world’s
small, intimate movements offers readers a different but equally powerful
experience.
Silk by Martine Shelk
Morning arrives
not with noise
but with touch.
A pale thread of light
slips through the blinds
and lays itself
across the room.
Everything softens.
The chair,
the quiet spine of a book,
the
sleeping dust
hovering in the air.
Light moves carefully—
like silk drawn from a
sleeve,
like water learning
the shape of a hand.
Outside,
the world is stitching itself awake:
a
bus sighing at the corner,
pigeons lifting
their grey wings of paper,
someone’s footsteps
crossing the fragile fabric of dawn.
I stand in the middle of it,
barefoot,
feeling
the hour slide past my skin.
Time today
is not a clock.
It is cloth—
smooth, patient,
unfolding across
the day.
And the morning
wears it lightly,
as though the world itself
has dressed
in silk.
Highly Commended and Commended Poems
While the top two poems were memorable for their
emotional depth and imagery, the highly commended and commended poems also
contributed unique perspectives and strong poetic craftsmanship. These poems
explored a variety of themes, from intimate personal experiences to reflections
on the natural world.
The Highly Commended poems displayed a range of
voices and poetic techniques, with many focusing on deep emotional or
philosophical reflections. These poems showcased considerable skill in their use
of language, metaphor, and structure. They often explored themes like loss,
identity, and personal transformation, suggesting a strong connection to the
inner workings of the human experience.
The Commended poems presented a more diverse
range of subjects, offering fresh perspectives and engaging with both the
everyday and the profound. These poems stood out for their creativity and
thoughtful execution. Some engaged with the natural world, exploring its quiet
beauty or its harshness, while others took on more personal, introspective
themes.
These poems collectively reflect the wide-ranging
talent and creativity of contemporary poets, each offering something distinctive
to the landscape of modern poetry. Whether through the exploration of light and
time, the musings on love and loss, or the quiet reflections on nature, each
poem serves as a testament to the rich diversity of poetic expression.
James Bain
Winning Poem
Rachel Chook – “Leaving”
2nd Place poem
Matine Shelk – “Silk”
Winning Poem
Rachel Chook – “Leaving”
2nd Place poem
Matine Shelk – “Silk”
Highly Commended (not in any order)
Z (Zhanara Begum) - "Full of holes"
Mandy Pannett - Journey of a Black UmbrellaJennifer
McClure - "snowfake"
Arabella Green - "By the heart
Alwyn Marriage – “'Broadway
Boogie-Woogie'
A.C. Clarke – “Naming the storm”
Michael Brown - "The Door"
Other Commended and short listed poems.
Omar Majeed - "Hanging"
Charlotte McDermott - "Gabriel recited Neruda"
Yara Handschin - "Seventeen"
Lauren Jarvis - "JAMES"
Doina Chiselita - "The Lightbulb"
Dilys Hadley - "A Year at Rainbows 2025"
Lucy Nankivell - "A Tourist Gazing at the Anchoress’s
Cell"
Colette Hamilton - "Mountain Talk"
Peter Heydon - "Transubstantiation"
Sue Hansard - “The Beauty of Weeds”
Heather Leach - "Birdsong, Birdsong"
SK Grout - Untitled (first line: "I take my hand from
my heart...")
Alan Mansell - "Facing a Storm, Like Turner."
Claire Seaman - "The Land Beyond the Words"
Katharine Cossham - "Love in the time of surgery"
Janet Wilkinson - "My Sister’s Garden"
Martha Hebden - "Nice Bird"
David I. Hughes - "The Last Sense"
Diana Woodhouse - "An Illusory Freedom."
Poetry Kit
Ekphrastic Competition for 2025
Winner
Diana Killi for Nude descending a staircase
(1912)
Runner-up
SallyAnn Ling for The Boathouse
Commended Poems
Rod Whitworth for printing with fish
Mandy Pannett for SPACES ON A SUMMER’S DAY
Patrick Osada for PICTURE
ON THE WALL.
Alwyn Marriage for
'Broadway Boogie-Woogie'
Roddy Scott for La Maîtresse Du Ballet
SUE HANSARD for WAR WORK.
Di Hills, for The Writer and her Maid
James Bain says
“A big thanks to all who entered. Once again, the overall
standard was exceptionally high, and it was a genuine pleasure to read such a
diverse and impressive array of poems. The decision regarding the winner and
runner-up was by no means straightforward, but I am confident that both are
thoroughly deserving of their recognition, as are all the poets whose work has
been commended. My congratulations to everyone who took part and made this such
a rewarding competition.” (James Bain)
Congratulations to the poets who made the final
selection.
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