AN ANCIENT MARINER

Bewildering Stories is an international webzine that publishes unusual, often bizarre, tales in the form of flash fiction, serials, short stories, reviews and much, much more. It's a fascinating site that's well worth a visit. It also publishes poems. 

I've been notified that my poem, Red Umbrella, which appeared in Issue 856, has received one of this year's Mariner Awards and so will feature in the Bewildering Stories 2020 Annual Review.

I've won a few poetry prizes in my life but rarely enter competitions nowadays because I feel that they should be an opportunity for newer, younger writers to shine. 

The Mariner Awards are made, not as the result of a formal competition, but, instead, and here I quote Don Webb, Managing Editor of Bewildering Stories: "The Annual Review contains ... the crème de la crème, the Editors' Choices of the most outstanding works of the year." 

For an old guy who's been writing for much of his adult life that accolade is very pleasing indeed.

The poem itself is an interesting one, from my point of view, in that it began as a straightforward love story and abruptly, almost of its own accord, plunged into something much darker whilst, ultimately, remaining a story of true love. 

RED UMBRELLA 

It rained. 

You held a red umbrella high,

leaned into me and whispered, 

Sod the rain.

I realised that something had begun

that was unstoppable. 

Time’s devoured 

a lifetime of embraces since that day.

Now pain spreads like a red umbrella

as you lean into me. 

The pillow, like an angel’s wing,

kisses my bloodless lips.