Alexandra is a third year studying joint honours in English and Creative Writing at the University of Cumbria.
The following poem was awarded joint first in the University of Cumbria Andrea Pendlebury poetry prize.
Parade
We hear the ‘duddlum,
duddlum’
of the lambeg drum
their arms swinging
possessively
all the youngsters
love to copy
all ages are marching
in the band
keeping flags in their
hands
and the stalls full of
tack,
shiny plastic toys
covered with the union jack
the roads are cordoned
off by police
as the crowds flood
the street
here they come, right
incline
marching without a
foot out of line
drunken protestants
fight and curse
here for the parade,
but no faith to the church
they yip and yo as
King Billy arrives on the horse
every year the
tradition is enforced
now comes the bowler
hats and oranges sashes
loyalist men in black
with handlebar tashes
the people line the
route that the bands take
Granda taps his foot
and to the sound the flutes make
a security
announcement is made to the crowd,
there has been a bomb
scare, everyone must leave now.
By Alexandra McCauley
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