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InterBoard Poetry Competition
First Place Winner, October 2004

TWENTY-YEAR MARRIAGE
      Ash Bowen
      (Melic Review RoundTable)

for Ai
Beside me in bed her arm
crosses the arch of her nose,
and I think, Radishes,
she is the color of radishes.

Once we hovered above our bed
a kiss like a paper cut
brought us back.

Now, I slip from sleep
and tie her to helium balloons.

Her weight is unimaginable.

I lean out the window and watch
the red dots falter, ache,
and disappear.


Judge Anthony Robinson’s comments: “In a poetic climate in which sincerity is so often suspect, this poem, with lean but rich imagery and emotional heft, is a welcome breath of air. Simplicity, impeccably presented, usually trumps ambition.”



About the InterBoard Poetry Competition
Archive of IBPC Winners
2nd Place Winner, October 2004



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