The Wild Inside: Ann Dunn

Congratulations to the winner of our 2020 Wild Inside Writing Competition Over-18s Poetry category: Ann Dunn

The Wild Inside

Here, in a highland pasture far away from you
a profusion of flowers flares under the skies
and meets my gaze as once your eyes;
Oh let me love these meadow flowers, let me be nature's wife,
let me forget your eyes
and in their place, love life.

Here, in a highland pasture far away from you
the warming rays of the mountain sun
give life to my soul as your smile had once done;
Oh let me love the healing sun, let me be nature's wife,
let me forget your smile
and in its place, love life.

Here, in a highland pasture far away from you
the touch of the shimmering pine
is as soft as when your face touched mine;
Oh let me love the gentle pine, let me be nature's wife,
let me forget the touch of your face
and in its place, love life.

Here, in a highland pasture far away from you
the breath of the mountain breeze is bliss
and caresses my body as once your kiss;
Oh let me love the whispering breeze, let me be nature's wife,
let me forget your tender kiss and in its place, love life.

Here, in a highland pasture far away from you
breathless in a tarn so cold so blue
I am at peace with the world as once with you;
Oh let me love the cold high lake, let me be nature's wife,
Oh let me forget your close embrace
And in its place, love life.

• Readers of Wild Inside were invited to submit poetry or prose on the subject of 'the wild inside'. The competition was judged by renowned nature writer, Linda Cracknell who said of Ann Dunn's winning poem for the Over-18s Poetry category: "I enjoyed the way this poem told a story and moved in a kind of haunting incantation towards a hopeful conclusion."
• Read the other winning entries for our Wild Inside Writing Competition 2020.