The John Robert Doyle, Jr., Prize
Brian Slusher “VOLCANO WEDDING”
Honorable Mentions:
Tim Conroy, Debra Daniel, Lisa Sloan, Patti Conroy
VOLCANO WEDDING
Who proposed this venue? Two grooms
Face at the edge of the magma field
The official’s back to the blossoming
Pops of lava, each microburst a color
You might describe as roarange, so hot
If one drop landed on skin it would
Burn to the bone. Marriage is not
Dangerous enough, we must plummet
To terminal velocity while shouting
Our vows with the insane faith the silk
Will deploy. Here, on the verge of
Desolation and creation, we witness
The Earth reskin itself, as we hope
These two exchanging rings will learn
To do, each day remaking love.
Judge’s Comment:
The assonance of o sounds roils this poem nearly over the edge. Finely crafted at the ledge of lava.