Third Place Winner, September 2001 InterBoard Poetry Competition

Poetry

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Poetry

InterBoard Poetry Competition

Third Place Winner, September 2001

SERVANT
Ankush Sachdeva
(The Critical Poet)

I can smell the flavors of your neck
in this creel of codfish.

You thumbed the fish
till its bones crumbled,
piece by piece,
gills garnished your wrists
like ousted confetti.

Supper revolved around
the pungency of Madras Curry.

Somewhere, in the handcrushed
garlic or Origello spice,
I can taste all the things
that you touched today.

Judge Joan Houlihan's comment: “Understated and purposeful, personal address works well and introduces some interesting ambiguities (re: role of 'servant'). Internal rhymes add strength and interest (thumbed/crumbled, smell/creel, fish/garnished/wrists, supper/pungency/curry). A gem.”