My Beautiful Body
by Mary MacGowanThe Waters
First Place, February 2020
Judged by R.T. Castleberry
My beautiful body, I’m so sorry.
You were starved, befriended wrong
people, ate badly, drank too much.
And for petty thoughts I am
ashamed. Who’s fatskinnydumb-
smart. On the way down
does everyone feel the same
regardless of why the fall –
pushed, accidental, suicide?
And what to knit with all my spare
time? Yards & skeins of it.
A sweater, maybe a scarf.
Stop. You’re making me laugh.
I bought myself flowers,
gave blood. Today ran away
with me. I’m late.
Blunt and fearless but also well-crafted, with a tight meter and an economical use of tough language. --R.T. Castleberry
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August 2022 Winners
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First Place
Sodom by the Sea
by Ken Ashworth
The Writer's Block
Second Place
Good Omens
by Christine Potter
The Waters
Third Place
Isaac and the Apple
by Rus Bowden
Babilu
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July 2022 Winners
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First Place
striking a match in an empty house
by Billy Howell-Sinnard
The Waters
Second Place
My Soul to Keep
by Jim Doss
Babilu
Third Place
Li Po Adrift
by Bob Bradshaw
The Writer's Block
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