Story and Poem of the Month

Our Story and Poem of the Month for February have very kindly been chosen by marandina:

Spring is in the air, winter now behind us after a tricky few months for many, what with the cost of living crisis, the ongoing war in Ukraine and other issues at home and abroad. A bright ball of sun in a blue sky remains the writing oasis at ABCTales.com. It was lovely to be asked back to choose the monthly picks for February. It meant I could masquerade as an editor of sorts for a time. I binge-read content on the site for 28 days. I can honestly say that I have read every single poem and story as I am sure everyone else does when tasked with something like this. Choosing was harder than ever….

So to the poetry category.

With reading so many poems I ended up with the following honourable mentions.

Ewan for his thought provoking reflections of the sunlit uplands of his home town in “Our Town” https://www.abctales.com/story/ewan/our-town

Skinner_jennifer for her wondrous reverie and homage to nature through “The Secrets of a Green Man”

https://www.abctales.com/story/skinnerjennifer/secrets-green-man

Di_Hard’s powerful “two paths”, an evocation of nature and its underbelly

https://www.abctales.com/story/dihard/two-paths-may-be-distressing-0

socialeaf’s beautiful, philosophical, beguiling poem “Us”

https://www.abctales.com/story/socialeaf/us

kilb50’s wonderfully evocative images of the South West in “Exeter to Teignmouth, Off Peak Day Return” – a train we all wish we could ride

https://www.abctales.com/story/kilb50/exeter-teignmouth-peak-day-return

and yutka’s enigmatic, beatific veneration of birds “Different to Caged Birds”

https://www.abctales.com/story/yutka/different-caged-birds

It was hard to pick a Poem of the Month but, in the end, the one that I enjoyed more than any other was “The Shadow of Birds” by onemorething. Dark, foreboding, steeped in folklore and with an underlying sadness, this poem tells a story of those who were misunderstood and wronged in such an eloquent way. It is my Poem of the Month.

https://www.abctales.com/story/onemorething/shadows-birds

And now to the story category. 

Honourable mentions to:

celticman with a wistful tale of marriage and misadventure in Afghanistan “British Bulldog”

https://www.abctales.com/story/celticman/british-bulldog

TJW for his searing story “The “R” Word” of a crime that sit in the shadows of armed forces

https://www.abctales.com/story/tjw/r-word

Mark Burrows with “night of the armed siege”, a stripped back tale of a child dealing with trauma

https://www.abctales.com/story/mark-burrow/night-armed-siege

Mitchell Jamal Franco for his sci-fi tale “HOMESTEAD” of technological advancement and impacted emotions set on Mars

https://www.abctales.com/story/mitchell-jamal-franco/homestead

Sean McNulty with his mercurial, quirky and funny tale of a worrier “The Worry”

https://www.abctales.com/story/sean-mcnulty/worry

It was genuinely so difficult to choose a Story of the Month as it came to two stand-out pieces. I had to give it a lot of thought and reflection as I couldn’t choose both (I would if I could). Having re-read both several times, a close runner up was Mark Say with “Always on my Mind”. The level of technical skill with which this is written is exemplary and comes highly commended. It’s a story of assumption and coincidence that spans cultures.

https://www.abctales.com/story/mark-say/always-my-mind

In the end, I went with Luigi Pagano’s “The Lion’s Mouth (Part 1). This is historical fiction of the highest quality in a two-part story sent in 14^th century Venice. I am a huge fan of the genre and currently reading Conn Iggulden’s “Lion” so Luigi’s work resonated with me. It’s meticulously detailed with a strong story arc that brings its characters vividly to life. Both parts are great!

https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/lions-mouth-part-1

Again, as always, it was such a pleasure to read such high quality material from so many people. The site continues to be a safe space for writers to develop and a fabulous community of like-minded yet wonderfully diverse writers.