Oli Isaac’s poem ‘to whom / it may / concern’ came first in the Best Single Poem category of the 2025 Disabled Poets Prize.

The Disabled Poets Prize looks to find the best work created by UK-based deaf and disabled poets.

to whom / it may / concern

apologies for my belated response, but i hope this finds you 

the templates i use in emails are spilling into real-life conversations 

it’s easier sometimes than stumbling over words 

please confirm or respond or let me know  

my google calendar informs me that tomorrow is the first time you will have doubts 

do i RSVP or… ? 

just a friendly reminder 

that the heart on average weighs 300 grams 

that coffee can supplement a sense of purpose 

that charon’s obol is perched on the ledge of my throat  

i’m worried i’m coming across too formal 

i mean — i look forward to and appreciate this opportunity 

don’t hesitate if 

              the telephone wires tangled between us stretch and fray and lose their definition 

                           unspoken words preserved next to sidewalk gum 

to be honest or to be fair or to be 

looking for a night that ends with a promise 

that things will start again on the first bus home 

i look at you and 

please come before the offer runs out 

brands are always first to wish me a happy birthday 

i regret to inform you that your 

soft eyes drag me away from knowing 

that the blood sloshing around inside me 

is only held in by clenched lips and closed fists 

i would like to wake up next to you 

but no worries if not 

i mean — i would love to see spring with you 

i mean — i would love to hear back 

i have a recycling bin that i keep trying to empty 

but it always tells me everything is in use 

that everything is always in use 

About Oli Isaac

Oli Isaac is a writer based in London. Currently, Oli is developing a debut full-length audio play as a recipient of Audible Theatre’s Emerging Playwrights Fund. Oli won the 2024 Verve Poetry Festival Competition and was recently selected for Spread The Word’s Deaf and Disabled Writer Commissions. They also teach poetry workshops, most recently a series on Radical Poetry with The Learning Cooperative. Oli is an alum of Roundhouse Poetry Collective Barbican Young Poets, and Soho Writer’s Lab.