Judge Patricia Smith’s comments: “I was pulled headfirst into this tale of a repentant but hopeful father and his longed-for son—I wanted more, craved more, but I don’t believe that was a shortcoming of the poem. I enter every poem hungering for a tale, and when that tale is as terse and straightforward as this one, I feel slighted. But I also feel that somewhere, in that rollicking parallel universe where the wishes of wordsmiths are paramount, the lives of these two people— especially the father, whose trek homeward is already scripting in my head—go on well beyond the poem.”

Judge Patricia Smith’s comments: “As someone who is trying (with varying levels of success) to reverse a reputation for rampant wordiness (not to mention sudden spates of alliteration), I’ve always envied conciseness that embraces huge vision. This little poem roots the reader squarely in a time and mindset; each little line is dense with atmosphere. And ‘...the turn of menses into red power...’ Amazing.”