We are delighted to publish the winning entry for the COURSE competition 2021.  Scroll down the page to find the entry that has won Alyson Faye our £10 prize.

Alyson Faye bio

I joined a WEA class near Leeds about 8 years ago which reignited my love of writing and telling stories. Since then I've had a number of my short stories/flash fiction and poetry published in e-zines, (Siren's Call/ Ellipsis) and in print anthologies (Air by Tyche Books). I also run a local writing group, via zoom currently.
 
Lately, I've three pieces of my flash fiction read out on BBC Radio Leeds and my fiction has been read out on podcasts at (https://www.ladiesofhorrorfiction.com/2019/07/17/ladies-of-horror-fiction-presents-creatures/) and is available as downloads (on the Casket of Fictional Delights).

I also perform at  open mics around Yorkshire and currently I am working on a time slip Y.A. novel  set in my home town of Bingley.

I'm on twitter @AlysonFaye2
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Amazon author's page - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alyson-Faye/e/B01NBYSLRT
https://bundlerabbit.com/products/detail/darkness-calls


WINNING ENTRY 2021 by Alyson Faye


Graffiti Guys



Here’s me and Dom
spray cans in hand,
strutting around town
in the post-midnight land.

Our world’s defined by
Ubers and underpasses,
concrete’s our canvas,
walls are our prey.
We’re looking for the space
to create our dream scapes.


No-ways are we council-funded,
‘cos we got chucked outta school,
no Art ‘A’ levels for us boys,
but we got the time
and we got the talent
here in our cans,
here in our hands.
We're famous in these
urban, forgotten lands.

Me, I dig abstract.
Dom’s bag is faces,
empty-eyed skulls -
drawn from his mum on Valli,
off his Dad on whack.
We spray what
our D.N.A has shown us.


We've gone off course
veered off the track.
there's no exams or paper
for our lives' twisting tack.

Comments from our readers:

We enjoyed the energy we felt coursing through this piece of writing as we visualised the lads making their way around the town at night, hunting down their ‘prey’.  We were interested in the  ‘abstract’ and ’empty eyed skulls’ because we’ve all seen  graffiti of these types but thought the only depth to those responsible was that of malicious intent.  When we read ‘We spray what our DNA has shown us’, your poem left us thoughtful and we’ll now be noticing graffiti with a fresh outlook.