Competition No. 2655

In Competition No. 2655 you were asked to submit a poem about a mundane household task such as boiling an egg or changing a light bulb in the style of a poet of your choice.

Pastiche always pulls in the crowds, and true to form the entries came flooding in. Commendations go to Virginia Price Evans, Paul Griffin, Martin Parker, Gee McIlraith and Tim Raikes, all of whom were unlucky losers. But a pat on the back all round: entries were almost uniformly magnificent and it was extremely tough to choose only a handful. The winners are printed below and earn their authors £25 each. The bonus fiver belongs to George Simmers.

Each morn resplendent angels swept the rich
Brocaded carpets of the Heavenly halls
With whirring Dysons, and let marvel none
That such machinery was there, for Heaven’s store
Holds all devices that God’s providence
Has planned for human weal in future times.
Satan was on that rota; with deft skill
He could all four attachments utilise
To clean fine tapestries and yet harm not
The lustrous filigrees of golden thread.