
Winners & Finalists for 2015 Luminaire Award for Best Poetry
First Place: “mob of one” by Normal
Second Place: “Reign” by Jared A. Carnie
Third Place: “Sewing” by Noel King
Fourth Place: “Cause Célèbre” by Andrei Guruianu
Fifth Place: “After Abandon” by Michael Cooper
Sixth Place: “The Bends” by J. Bradley
Seventh Place: “Interview with a Rapid Snowfall” by Maison Demuth Olson
Eighth Place: “October” by Jared A. Carnie
Ninth Place: “My Afternoons with Dylan Thomas” by Lyn Lifshin
Tenth Place: “Madame Laveau, Fortune Teller and Police Psychic, Falls off the Wagon with a Resounding Thud” by Jason Ryberg
Eleventh Place: “color & contour” by Maison Demuth Olson
Twelfth Place: “Interstices” by Kelly Jean Egan
2015 Luminaire Award Poetry Judges




2015 First Place Winner: “mob of one” by Normal
mob of one
maybe
they don’t express these things
the rye the whiskey the screaming
in the hall—the piss in front
of the door—the backhand
slapping like an angry
spanish dance
across the cheek
of a child.
every girl
holds at least
one secret
out in her palm
far from the crowd
in her own private world
in her own mob of one.
every girl
knows the land of the turtle
the language of the sickly
the chambers of the swan.
every girl
rallies a flower
discovers a feather
champions a stone
she protects from the world.
maybe
there is no word left
to express the sound
of a siren shattering the moon—
no lighthouse bright enough
to guide your tiny vessel
out of the harbor of tears &
into the sea of an
unforgiving sorrow. maybe
there is no one left to blame.
maybe
there is no expression left
no words left
to the song you have not
written yet
that carries on its wings
a hope
that sings
your name.

2015 Second Place Winner: “Reign” by Jared A. Carnie
Reign
I picked up a stick
And spiked the sky
Where the sparrows peered in.
I built my fortress.
I tested my troops.
I crushed my enemies. I worked tirelessly.
I was glorious.
Then mum called ‘dinner’
From the back door
And the night destroyed my empire.
2015 Third Place Winner: “Sewing” by Noel King
Sewing
I have a need to cover a great oak tree with one
big white sheet, dream of threading together
a house-full pulled from under a family
who stare at me, consider me mad; brutal even.
At eight, I fell from its branches, don’t know what
happened then, just remember being bedridden.
At ten, I crouched in lightning, not knowing a tree
was the last place to shelter.
An oak swish in winter soothed me at earlier times
of life. Now its tongues tease me, coming as it has before
baby, child, teenager, husband, widower. Naked
in a nightmare, I am barely balanced on my garden wall,
wave my arms to keep balance and the sheet in my hands
from flapping, despair on how to get my sheet over the tree.
I no longer object to house plans for its field, won’t mind
the sound of a chainsaw; will a dream to sit on
its wide stump as branches lay dying in the grass, and I
won’t count the circles, knowing it has lived long enough.

Luminaire Award Medallion Designers
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Devin Byrnes and SuA Kang of Hardly Square, for their creativity in designing our annual medallion imprint. Hardly Square is a strategy-, branding-, and design-based boutique located in Baltimore, Maryland, that specializes in graphic design, web design, and eLearning courses. Their invaluable design expertise has made our annual awards come to life. Learn more about our medallion designers.
Transparency for 2015 Luminaire Award for Best Poetry
Judging spreadsheets and final reports will be updated here shortly.