ERoSH is pleased to announce the winner of its 2007 "I lead a sheltered life" national poetry competition is Hanover Housing Association resident, Mr J McGeough of Tamworth, Staffordshire, for his winning poem 'Pensioners'.

Launched to celebrate UNESCO's World Poetry Day in March this year, ERoSH's poetry competition aimed to illustrate the high levels of happiness and well being that tenants and residents enjoy from living in sheltered housing.

ERoSH asked Mr McGeough what his inspiration for the poem was: "I wanted to show how well we (tenants and residents) are living in sheltered housing, compared with other peple who are not so lucky to live in this sort of housing."

And here is Mr McGeough's winning poem 'Pensioners':

I have seen them of a pension morning,
Those feet that bestrode a bucking deck
Or pounded forward at the sergeant's bawl
When their owners answered freedom's call.

And I've seen them of a pension morning,
Those gentle hands that raised a brood
Of kids, nursed the nation's sick
Or taught in schools, clutching canes or whitened stick.

I have seen their faces, of a pension morning,
Reddened by the sharpness of the autumn wind,
Above timeworn bodies that haul themselves
To the post office and its treasure laden shelves.

I have seen them of a pension morning,
Those brittle boned frames of yesterday's giants
Regaining their dignity among their own,
To laugh, to recount the chances taken and chances blown.

I have seen them of a pension morning,
Making their careful way through
Fallen leaves as profuse and golden as political
Promises, to empty homes, lonely, invisible.

I have seen them of a pension morning,
And from my sheltered world
I can only pity their loneliness
For they surely deserve a share of my happiness.

I have seen them of a pension morning,
Those who inhabit my sheltered world,
My neighbours with their cheerful faces
Warm, happy and content in this secure oasis. 

Michele Hollywood, ERoSH chair, has congratulated the winner: "Mr McGeough has done incredibly well, beating off over 200 other submissions to win the top prize of £100. He has written a beautful poem, which is thought provoking and very emotive. The judges all thought he'd perfectly captured the appreciation that tenants and residents feel, and the associated well being they enjoy, from living in sheltered housing. Well done."

Two other poems were also awarded a 'Highly Commended' and 'Commended. Read more...