Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest 2022
First Prize, Tom Howard, Poetry

My boy came into the room and said, Mom, you are
the hound, Dad is the hunter, and I am the—

but he couldn't remember, so stood there, silent. I wanted
to know, but forgot how to speak, form my lips into

language, started to say dear or hart or mourn—even though
I knew that was wrong, knew I was messing up words, but

nothing more came out. In the second part of the dream he tried again:
Mom, you are the deer, Dad is the hounds, and I am the hunt—

but then stopped, shook his head, started over. No, you are the hunter,
Dad is the deer, and I am—he stopped again. No, you are

the hounds and the hunter, I am the dear. Then he walked outside
into the woods, the world. In the third part of the dream he was

standing in the yard, his back to the house. It was dark. Too cold
to be naked in the night—he needs a blanket. He was

looking up, still. In the fourth part of the dream he looked back as if
I had called his name, but I couldn't have—I had forgotten how

to speak, form my lips into language. He pointed up and I saw him
say, Mom, see it? Orion! How I wanted to know, see it all, but I

couldn't get past his body—when had he lost his baby fat? Where
was my little boy's body? In the last part of the dream he

flexed and cocked his muscles, agleam beneath the stars and said,
Mom, look, the Hunter! And he laughed and laughed and cried

and wept, falling to his knees in the cold dirt of a dark night.

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest 2022
First Prize, Margaret Reid, Traditional Verse

I tremble with solitude much greater than my own —Robert Șerban
wehn the frsit saporrw flel from the haeenvs / did it fly psat you /
or did it flal trhugoh you? / did you frcoe it to fele? / to mkae a new hmoe
out of yuor asbecne? / wehn you mdae the saporrw / did you make it /
in your image / or mine? / did you snig out in hpapnises / or sroorw?
wehn you mdae its wnigs preecft for fghilt / wree you saepnkig to me?
or sahinpg its bdoy to taceh me loss?
i konw mrcey / i konw mrcey can be
taht cuerl / i hvae seen yuor cuertly / in the wnigs of a saporrw / tlel me /
if i wecrk the saporrw’s nset / if i cut dwon its tere / if i trohw its bdoy /
bcak to you / wlil you konw i am saepnkig aubot melysf? / wlil you lstein
to the sunoldsesenss of my asbecne? / are you wliinlg to bruy yuosrlef
whit me? / i ask olny for dmonioin / oevr my own asbecne / tell me
if not the lnaugage of slincee / waht do you udnretsnad? / if not
the peorty of asbecne / waht do you feel?