Story and Poem of the Month

Without any preamble, here's Joe Lawrence - one of our top editors - who has been diligently sifting through all the wonderful things that have appeared on ABCTales this month:

It’s always a challenge when asked to pick the SOTM and POTM. There are just so many great pieces to choose from. But for me SOTM goes to Stephen Thom for his magical “As long as sea beats on stone.”

http://www.abctales.com/story/stephen-thom/long-sea-beats-stone

The descriptive writing in the first part of this story, where a young man witnesses truly horrific scenes of war is mesmerising. As the story progresses we are introduced to the same man, now much older, still coming to terms with that memory. If you haven’t read it already, you must. It’s a brilliant read.

For POTM I’ve gone for Phillip Sidney’s wonderful “Tryptich – 1 – Mass.”

http://www.abctales.com/story/philip-sidney/triptych-1-mass

Any poem that starts with a Mother in a mantilla and ends with Roasting flesh and cabbage, just has to be read!  Although written with a child - like voice it  manages to show all the elements of religious order that includes Sunday best behaviour and clean faces. A poem that many people will relate to.