Honorable Mention
light spills
through a fallstreak hole
onto water . . .
if nothing else,
this will be enough
Judges' Comments:
Finally, we chose "light spills" for its classical beauty and sense of the ethereal in terms of style and theme. A fallstreak hole is a large gap in certain cumulus clouds that occurs when supercooled water droplets meet up with ice crystals; what a sight that relatively rare phenomenon must be for the narrator. She literally sees the light pouring onto a body of water below (water being symbolic in its own right). She also figuratively "sees the light," the hole representing "a break in the clouds" for her (possibly in the form of a much-needed answer or relief from a pressing matter). Perhaps, even more spectacularly, the narrator experiences a breakthrough in terms of a spiritual quest—a glimpse of heaven that, if need be, "will be enough."
—Janet Lynn Davis and James Chessing
(note: there were 650 entries to the contest)
