It's a Girl
by Pauline Murphy, Ireland. Third place in the Writory International Poetry Contest, July 2026, scored 95 out of 100.
It's a Girl
for a girl in an orphanage
You’ve learned to have small needs,
so you smile for the day you can’t see,
let dreams go, easy.
Like the sun, your face shines
bright in a life that is dark and lived
beside cold walls, peeling green
and throwing their shadows into a pale stew -
a big woman feeds you -
you watch her, unseeing, eyes wide and blue,
turn your head and listen hard
to the scrape and tap of the spoon,
mouth a perfect O, then swallow,
begin once more and once more begin
until the spoon does not come again
and you stop waiting.
In the night, I can’t shake
the prickly coolness of trees and frogs
and crickets that slip into the dark - sounding out.
I sleep, dream
you’ve picked up your bed and run away,
surprised by the feel of grass, the breeze,
small wonders beyond your bed,
and there is someone to count your toes, fingers,
smell the crown of your head.
Read the winning poems