Judge Patricia Smith’s comments: “Stark, concise and deliciously image-driven, this minute gem is lush and unerringly focused. The underlying tale grows larger and more complex with each reading–and with each reading, this poem feels like a gift on the open air.”

Poem of the Year Judge Xeufei Jin’s comments: “The poem is marked with clarity and concreteness. The lines gleam on the page. The child is troubled by death, which is embodied by the fish the grandfather is cleaning, but the child doesn’t know how to frame the question precisely for the old man. As a result, the grandfather’s answer remains ambiguous, but amazingly it is also right. The ending is full of beauty and ambiguity.”