Spectator competitions: poems about the Sycamore Gap tree

In Competition No. 3322 you were invited to submit a poem reflecting on the fate of the Sycamore Gap tree, planted in the late 19th century by Newcastle lawyer John Clayton.

Antony Gormley, who has a studio in Hexham near the site of the felled tree, has described it as ‘a marker in the lie of the land’. Talk of replacing it with a sculpture is wrongheaded, he said, quoting fellow artist Mark Wallinger: ‘A sculpture and a tree are very different, and in most cases a tree is always preferable.’

Several competitors drew to great effect on Manley Hopkins’s 1879 ‘Binsey Poplars’, inspired by the felling of a row of poplar trees on the bank of the River Thames. David Shields earns a commendation.

The winners below scoop £25.

If you’re a photogenic, striking tree,

rejoice! We have in Hexham, by a wall,

a full-time role for you, a vacancy,

you must be landmark-worthy, ancient, tall,

adept at being honoured, hugged, admired,

a sentinel and shelter, resting-place.