Poetry Competition 2025

Judge's report

Firstly, I want to thank Carers UK for inviting me to judge the poetry competition again this year. It has been a deeply moving and highly enjoyable task. We received nearly 300 poems, all of which I read, and read and re-read.  

Judging can be a lonely business and, ultimately, I believe that poetry is meant to be read together and shared. So once I had my shortlist, I was pleased to have the opportunity to share and discuss the selection with Michael Shann (Carers UK’s Head of Carer Support), plus two Carers UK Trustees (Ginny Pulbrook and David Josephs) who kindly volunteered their time.   

As a panel, we agreed that each of the shortlisted poems presented a uniquely powerful perspective on the caring experience, in surprising and unexpected ways. As well as the Prizewinners and Highly Commended, the range of poems submitted inspired two new categories for special recognition, the Member Prize and the Special Carers' Anthem Prize.  

First Prize goes to ‘I Carried Him’ by Martin Seare, a boldly triumphant, elegiac poem which celebrates the determination and strength of a female carer who must battle with health and social care professionals to keep alive the man she loves.

Susan Baker’s 'My Mother Won a Prize' takes Second Prize, a beautifully concise poem which captures the gentle observations of a carer honouring their mother's younger self as she ages, and becomes more frail.  

The Third Prize winner is 'Hands That Once Held Me' by Aaliyah O’Neil, a delightful poem which makes skilful use of rhyme and sustained rhythm to convey the familiar switching of roles that carers can experience when looking after a parent.

Amongst the highly commended poems, were those that focused on small and precise details to tell a larger story. In 'Lady of the Harbour' by Giles Constable, Leonard Cohen plays in the background as a 60-year-old carer attends to their disabled mother in the bath. 'Post-it Notes at Dad’s House' by Jane Thomas finds affection and humour in the finding of misplaced reminder notes in the home of a father with dementia. Sammi Ford’s 'When it Happened to Me' and Kauser Parveen’s 'Young Carers Support Group' are starkly different but equally powerful testaments to a young carer’s experience and the need for support.

'Children’s Hospital' by Stefen Watt is a moving parental account of looking after a young child in need of special care, while Steven Green’s Triangulation is a poignant and joyful telling of a family coming together to care.  

We awarded the Special Carers' Anthem Prize to 'The Hands That Hold Us by Vikas' Pai, a poem that tells us caring is a language and is a rousing testament to the importance of caring in all its forms. Alison Hull’s 'Heart and Soul' gets this year’s Member Prize and provides perfect expression of why this competition exists:    

The caring role’s a huge one,  
It can be isolating too.  
It helps to connect with others,  
who know what we’re going through.     

Caring is huge, both rewarding and difficult, rich and varied, yet the carer often goes unrecognised and unseen. It helps to connect. We hope these poems will resonate with you all.  

Finally, I want to thank everyone who submitted work to the Carers UK Poetry Competition 2025. Your generosity, honesty and words provide an important window on what it means to be a carer – it is a profound privilege to meet all of you on the page in this way.