The 1oo BT Olympic Storytellers were invited to submit a piece entitled ‘Anticipation. The entries were judged by Caitlin Moran. I’m proud to say my poem was judged as winner!
Many others’ work was commended and included prose, photos and sculpture.
I can recommend a visit to the website at http://www.btlondon2012.co.uk/storytellers/index.php
It is well worth it…don’t forget to vote for your favourite piece by clicking ‘like’! The more votes storytellers get, the more ‘points’ they earn…I have my fingers crossed to come near the top of the list.
My poem, below, was designed to embrace olympic hopefuls from all over the globe, through a wide spectrum of sports as well as the myriad other people with a great investment in the success of the games in London 2012.
Anticipation
From misted dawn, cold, unforgiving
slap of trainers on damp tarmac.
Training. Again. Always.
Through desert haze, dusty, choking,
crunch of foot in sand.
Again. Training. Always.
In chill, grey, open water, churning
splash of ankle-kick in waves.
Always. Training. Again.
From sweat–stinking late night gym,
clack of weights lowered, controlled.
Training. Again. Always.
Along thin aired, cloudy mountain trail,
whir of wheels, locked into descent.
Training. Always. Again.
Horses whicker, stabled, waiting; yachts
chatter at anchor; pistols, cold, boxed,
safety on; bows unbent, relaxed;
Racquets, balls, parallel bars; stilled rings, chalk
for sticky hands; crash mats; dhojo; boots – all
still, empty, at rest – for now.
Mayor and minister, coach and trainer;
groom and ref and umpire. Taxi driver;
train driver; bus driver; landscaper scattering
seed for field of gold – all waiting, wondering
watching progress as brick on brick, window
by window, stair by stair, the dream is made real.
Pools filled, surfaces laid, lines marked, walkways
paved. Village built, rails joined, velodrome
stands bright and proud. Routes tested, details
fine tuned. Competitors dream, coaches scheme
politicians rub sweaty palmed hands. Will it work,
can it work, how good will it be…
… and the clock in the
square counts down, down
and down to London – 2012.
Congratulations, Sally! Great poem.
Thank you Andrew…there is some good stuff on the BT Storytellers website…well worth a few minutes read. Thanks for commenting.
yey mummy ! xx
Congratulations! The poem is fabulous.
wow congrats sally, that’s awesome…the poem is a winner indeed…looking forward to the olympic games in london…what a great intro to them..
Wow, well done! From the poem I can see your win was deserved. Enjoy the moment!
Amazing Sally – think you’ve covered everything!
I like how this poem contains that feeling of anticipation for that great event to come. The repeated line “Training. Again. Always.” really does emphasize the routein of it, but the verses before and that follows hints of the scale and importance and pride of preparation. Enjoyed this poem very much.
thank you – it is hard to do justice to what so many have invested in the success of the Games