Stage 2: Final shortlist (in random order)

Judge's Comments
In general, the poems submitted this year showed a great deal of effort, originality and daring. Those which came through the first two selection did not conform to any single type or format: there was a lively and welcome variety of verse. The best poems this year, I thought, were less political and more personal, while maintaining a comic outlook on matters social and individual. A relaxed but confident sense of humour characterized the best poems this year.
hortlist
Stage 1: Top twenty one poems (in random order)

To a Gallant Leader		Diehard Leftist
Tattoos – A Conversation		Doctor Worship
In Defence of Texters		A Panegyric on an Irish Oak
NCT		Global Warming
Consultant Rules, OK		Ta-da! Keeping up with the Lingo
The Wrecker’s Ball		A Limited Time Offer
The Enlightened		Midnight Mass in Dublin 4
Women R 4rom Venus		La difference
A Panegyric on the Character, Deeds, and Will of W.		JSwift tries the Internet
Death is a Relative Thing		Corporate Hospitality
To Paint Echo to the Sight