Theme
1st Place

When I had that last dance of the night with you
in the twilight with Emmylou singing sweet and
soulful, and the guys there without anybody

throwing melting ice cubes at us and laughing,
I knew many of these people would be here
another year from now, but some wouldn’t,

and that was neither good nor bad, just
the way it was, like Amy walking up with
that homemade sign in her hands, Not going

to Bisbee anymore. Don’t ask. Please get me
something to drink, her eyes red-rimmed, her cheeks
flushed. We poured her a brandy slush and threw

the Frisbee around instead, had that water balloon
fight while the roasting sweet corn smoke kept
the mosquitoes away so we could grumble

about the new people that hadn’t come, the ones
who didn’t share in the camaraderie of those who
had stayed somewhere as long as we had,

but as darkness came, even we straggled away
from the attempted singalong, lugging our coolers,
coals in the ashcan, moving in shadows.

Judge’s Remarks: “This poem bristles with energy and details that bring the experience to life.”