that primal howl of grief, guilt, anger, fear at the telegram: “Sylvia died today.”

a golden halo around her black braids, and telepaths faith, faith, faith.

I tell my familiars everything but need to scream my head off in a Bible cocoon

And when the trembling shook the entire house it woke me into shock

as if you are a child lost on the water in a boat cast off from its lines

I am grateful for all the poets who submitted their work for the contest. Every year we get poems from all over the United States, and even across the world, about any number of topics.