First ($600)
Kèféri—Overcomer Ibiteye, Sabon Gari, Kano State, Nigeria

Second ($400)
Jed Clampett Is A Happy Man—Cheryl A. Rice, Kingston NY

Third ($250) tie
Colours Of Recovery—Joshua Effiong, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
Red Dust—Anita Vijayakumar, Lake Forest IL

Fifth ($175)

Visiting Blood—Paul Hastings Wilson, Wallkill NY

Sixth ($150)
My Grandmother Talked to Dolls—Jessica de Koninck, Montclair NJ

Honorable Mentions (10 @$100)

• Time Constant [ y(t) = yoe-t/τ] & How I Travel Through Time—Chinedu Gospel, Ozubulu, Anambra State, Nigeria
• Abortion As Untranslated Loss—Judy Kaber, Belfast ME
• Kudzu—Michael Colonnese, Hendersonville NC
• Kata Tjuta—Richard Foerster, Eliot ME
• Pain Rating—Anna Boughtwood, Rensselaer NY
• Ghost Stories—Jodi Frank, Argyle NY
• Remember the House—Habiba Dokubo-Asari, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
• Burnham’s Dream—Susan Carroll Jewell, Schenectady NY
• IT WAS FALL AND IT WAS LONDON FOR JUST ONE NIGHT—Kait Quinn, Minneapolis MN
• I Will See You In Another Life—Onyekachi Iloh, Enugu State, Nigeria

Other Finalists

• Formosa—Jackie Chou, Pico Rivera CA
• The Mathematician’s Daughter—Tom Corrado, Middleburgh NY
• Lilies—Tina Barry, High Falls NY
• Say Grace—Howard J. Kogan, Ashland MA
• EPHEMERA—Sierra DeMulder, Albany NY
• Wonder-ridden Song Rising from The Unsteady Waters of a Dream—Omodero David Oghenekaro, Isoko South, Delta State, Nigeria
• Blown Glass—Naomi Bindman, North Bennington VT
• Rodeo Winner—Rachel R. Baum, Saratoga Springs NY
• Roe vs Wade—Anastasia Jill, Orlando FL
• Tuesdays with the Ghost—LindaAnn LoSchiavo, New York NY
• Dessert for every season—Stuti Sinha, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• “Before-rain before-fear”—M.R., Nova Kahovka, Ukraine
• Because I can’t stop thinking about kissing you—Anamika Kumari, Delhi, India
• The Streets—Kudzaishe Muvirimi (Théo), Harare, Zimbabwe
• THE POETRY ON YOUR TV DOESN’T TALK FOR ME—Bradford Middleton, Brighton, England, UK
• The Birth—Tara A. Elliott, Salisbury MD

First ($500)
War Cries and Lullabies—Adisha Shaikh, Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Second ($400)
White Wedding, November Rain & Other Songs for A Wedding Playlist—Sherre Vernon, Lake Elsinore, CA

Third ($300)
In water—Soonest Nathaniel, Abuja, Nigeria

Fourth ($200)
Profile in Black Update: For George—Judy SooHoo, Chicago, IL

Honorable Mentions (13 @$100)

• U.S. Route 6 —Kate Crofton, Albany, NY
• {LIKE ANY GIRL-CHILD, I NEVER WANTED TO OBEY—-} —Despy Boutris, Berkeley, CA
• ST. FRANCIS AFTER RECEIVING THE STIGMATA —Catherine Field, Carbondale, IL
• The Moon in Drag —Kelly McQuain, Philadelphia, PA
• Raising the Dead —Matt Dennison, Columbus, MS
• Dandelions —Michael Emmanuel, Lagos, Nigeria
• Griosach —Glen Wilson, Portadown, Armagh, UK
• A RIVER BURNING —Michael Imossan, Wamakko, Sokoto, Nigeria
• Home is Never Finished —Doriana Diaz, Philadelphia, PA
• In the paw of the night —Gabriel Awuah Mainoo, Accra, Ghana
• a eulogy for the girl that dies first; or, alternatively, a critique on western media on who becomes the final girl and who becomes the first corpse, and overall why I learned to hate horror movies —Lena Kim, San Jose, CA
• Still Life —Elise Forslund, Washington, DC
• Nebulous Strike in Minnesota —Nnadi Samuel, Lagos, Nigeria

Other Finalists

• Dead-Reckoning —Richard Foerster, Eliot, ME
• After Discovering Mother’s Passport —Tina Barry, High Falls, NY
• Aphasia And Other Natural Disasters —Rachel Prince, Chelmsford, MA
• Ancestors —Margaret McGowan, Schenectady, NY
• IN FOUR WINDS THE LADIES ARGUE ABOUT THEIR FUTURE WITH THE POET —Lee Pursewarden, Crescent City, CA
• Ulysses of the Bars —Mark Tarallo, Washington, DC
• Should I Not Survive the Year —Luisa M. Giulianetti, Kensington, CA
• Priestess —Lauren Scharhag, Kansas City, MO
• several meanings understood yesterday —James Cook, Manchester, NY
• The Boat, Staithes, Yorkshire —Mantz Yorke, Manchester, UK
• Traveling Through —Sarah McCartt-Jackson, Louisville, KY
• Lake Malawi —Kaelin Harris, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
• Sanity Goes Bankrupt —Una May, Paris, France
• Cataloging the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa —Tom Corrado, Middleburgh, NY
• Young’s Quantum Experiment After Mass —Lee Nash, Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, France
• Old Trauma, New Culture —Shagufta Mulla, Independence, OR
• Windowsill Musings —Ellen Zhang, Troy, MI
• Morning Glories —Guy Reed, Saugerties, NY
• THE PERKS OF BEING A TAN HUA FLOWER —Susan L. Lin, Vista, CA

First ($500)
Bittersweet—Marianna Boncek. Woodstock, NY

Second ($400)
GRANDMA STILL REMEMBERS MY MOTHER WELL—Marija Dejanovic,  Zagreb, Croatia/Larissa, Greece

Third ($300) tie
Harbour—Virginia Boudreau, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sacrilege—Timi Sanni, Lagos, Nigeria

Fifth ($175)
A Thing Not Kept—Sarah McCartt-Jackson, Kentucky

Sixth ($150)
ADAM—Marlene M. Tartaglione, NY, NY

Editor’s Choice ($125)
Daydream—Cassandra IsFree, Norfolk, Virginia

Honorable Mentions (11 @$100)

• Long Walk to Nowhere—Obed Ebenezer. S, Kerala, India
• Aspens—Richard Foerster, Eliot, Maine
• Your Brain: A Landscape—Andra Vltavin, Portland, Oregon
• Moses at the Bridge—Emilio Iasiello, Arlington, Virginia
• Whish—Jackie Craven—Schenectady, NY
• In which the cardiologist discovers, from electrocardiography, the aetiology of my heart malfunction— Chisom Okafor, Idaw River, Enugu State, Nigeria
• blowing smoke on the wood—Tatiana Dolgushina, Unalaska, Alaska
• The Boy Achilles—Daniel Gorman, Albany, NY
• And Does the Earth Laugh? —Cameron Edwards, Fayetteville, North Carolina
• How to Hear the Voices—EJ Bowman, Orange County, California
• The Customs of Grief—Karen Craigo, Springfield, Missouri

Other Finalists

• Vermeer in Boston—Denise O”Hagan, Sydney, Australia
• Bipolar—Ernest Ogunyemi—Nigeria
• Mirror—Amanda Sommers, Ardsley, NY
• AFTERNOON IN THE WOODS—Despy Boutis, Houston, Texas
• HIRAETH (AN ODE TO A CITY) —Reena R., Kerala, India
• The Portrait of God as an Artist—Ebuka Evans, Mkpor, Anambra State, Nigeria
• The Night Before Haying—Mary Cuffe Perez, Galway, NY
• sunday in oakland—Daniel B. Summerhill, Marina, California (Publication on hold at the request of the poet)
• Mama was once a fairy—Madison Watai, Alberta, Canada
• St. Paul’s Churchyard—Tara A. Elliott, Eastern Shore, Maryland
• The Audacity of Sacrifice—Anointing Obuh, Nigeria
• Ding. Ding. Ding. — Arianna Culwell, Fresno, California
• Runaway—Jennifer Battisti, Las Vegas, Nevada
• A Sad Dreadful Fact—Luis Pabon, Albany, NY
• I am—Lorenda Mable, The Bronx, NY
• Highland Park, East New York—Ayendy Bonifacio, Toledo, Ohio
• Solutions—Cheryl A. Rice, Kingston, NY
• THE MARK—Pat Ashinze, Ilorin, Nigeria
• The Night Was White—Glenn Ingersoll, Berkeley, California
• a hypothetical record of existence in a geography of injustice, or not—Praise Osawaru, Nigeria
• Processions—Ginger K. Hintz, Oakland, California
• Silky Oak—Vanessa Page, Cashmere, Queensland, Australia
• SELF-PORTRAIT AS A STUDIO GHIBLI SOUNDTRACK—Grace Song, Great Neck, NY
• my roommate says i will age without a lover—Michael Emmanuel, Lagos, Nigeria

First ($500)
“Agua” —George Franklin, Miami, Florida

Second ($400)
“Bathing my Father” —Kendall Hoeft, Berkeley, California

Third ($300)
“A Poem from My Father to My Mother” —Steve Denehan, Naas, County Kildare, Ireland

Fourth ($200)
“Trout Fishing On Ten-Mile Creek” —Thomas Bonville, Catskill, NY
“Australia” —Deryn Pittar, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
“The Third Fall of His Incarceration” —Rebecca Schumejda, Rensselaer, NY

Honorable Mentions (12 at $100)

• “What did I love about” —Kathleen Smith, Loudonville, NY
• “in every life, girlhood is the same” —Dilki Jayasooriya, Karlstad, Sweden
• “The House Reads Matchbooks” —Madison Van Edwards, Albany, NY
• “The Mind-Changing Magic of Tidying-Up” —Susan Kress, Saratoga Springs, NY
• “Translation Book For A Child Between Countries” —Ojo Taiye, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria
• “Darwin’s Daughter” —Jackie Craven, Schenectady, NY
• “My broken magnolia tree” —Mary K O’Melveny, Kingston, NY
• “Our World as a Tree Falling Leaf by Leaf” —Taofeek Ayeyemi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
• “Epithalamium for Home or Ennui for body” —Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
• “Another Gray Afternoon in Guernica” —Kenneth Salzmann, Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
• “Remembering working” —Alan Catlin, Schenectady, NY
• “Red Leaf Tree in Summer” —D. Colin, Troy, NY

Other Finalists

• “Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, Sets the Record Straight” —Hannah Bleier, Malden, Massachusetts
• “an ode to Myself” —Nikhita Datar, Ann Arbor, Michigan
• “St. Ignatius Down the Street” —Mimi Moriarty, Voorheesville, NY
• “Grandson of Africa” —Jegede, Steve Olutunmise, Ile-Ife, Osum State, Nigeria
• “Rain” —Mary Panza, Albany, NY
• “What A World” —Gregory C. Wilder Jr., Schenectady, NY
• “The Red Beret” —Isobel Cunningham, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• “The Image That’s Me” —F.J. Tomy, Mombasa, Kenya
• “Untitled: Most challenges that I have faced” —Ian Macks, Troy, NY
• “the book of noah ii//or how the snake found its way into the ark” —O-Jeremiah Agbaakin, Lagos, Nigeria
• “Sno-Cone Joe” —Tom Corrado, Middleburgh, NY
• “India’s Daughter” —Sonia B Sydney, Kerala, India
• “The Bride in Black” —Rahana K. Ismail, Calicut, Kerala, India
• “Southern Shallow Groundwater” —Elizabeth Hays Tussey, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
• “Home from the War” —Nancy Klepsch, Troy, NY
• “Birth” —Onyekwelu Chiwenite Kingsley, Ikenga Ogidi, Anambra State, Nigeria
• “The Plains of Abraham” —David DeVries, Troy, NY
• “The Darkroom” —John Paul Davies, Navan, County Meath, Ireland
• “Saheli Stop! You Are Breaking Them” —Saheli Khastagir, New Orleans, Louisiana
• “At the Missing Sock Laundromat” —Noah Kucij, Albany, NY

First, $500
“Habana” —Ken Holland, Fishkill NY

Second, $400
“The Snowy Lean-To” —Caroline Bardwell, Schenectady NY

Third, $300
“On a Mission” —Mary Kathryn Jablonski, Saratoga Springs NY

Fourth, $200
“Double Going” —Richard Foerster, Eliot ME

Fourth, $200
“Nightmares on an Accelerated Frequency” —Mary A Elmahdy, Tucson AZ

International Award, $125
“Self narration would kill the black women street code” —Ikeonyia Mercy, Lagos, Nigeria

Editor’s Choice, $125
“The Road to School No. 10” —Elena Croitoru, Kent UK

Honorable Mentions (8) $100 (in order of judges’ ranking)

• “The Night Tristan Jumped Into Our Pool” —Dan Curley, Porter Corners NY
• “Flight Plan” —Jen Karetnick, Miami Shores FL
• “Heaven is a Soundstage Built to Make Drugged Soldiers More Fearless” —Annie Christain, Cobleskill NY
• “With An Army At Our Gates” —W. Luther Jett, Washington Grove, MD
• “Reading Dead Poets Listening to Live Jazz” —Dan Wilcox, Albany NY
• “Flower Hill” —Elizabeth Zerbst, Dolgeville NY
• “We Have Our Songs” —Maroula Blades, Berlin, Germany
• “Five Minutes of Poetry” —Mary Cuffe Perez, Galway NY

Commended Poems (in order of time of submission)

• “Migration of a Hollow Swan” —Kendall Hoeft, Troy NY
• “Women Who Move Me” —Dineen Carta, Clifton Park NY
• “Collars & Cuffs” —Karen Fabiane, Troy NY
• “Drive” —Jacqueline Kirkpatrick, Albany NY
• “Arthritis” —Kerry Andre Belgrave, St. Michael, Barbados
• “The Smoke” —Thomas Bonville, Catskill, NY
• “This is not a Poem” —Vivian Amah Ofre, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
• “All the spent years have come visiting” —Fakoyede Seun, Lagos, Nigeria
• “Broke just like that” —Danielle Colin, Troy NY

Other Finalists (in order of time of submission)

• “Dancing Tiger” —Fabiyas M V, Orumanayur, Kerala, India
• “A Year in Review in Pictures” —Alan Catlin, Schenectady NY
• “notes i found in my cousin’s diary” —Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Awka, Anambra State Nigeria
• “Longevity: A Scientific Perspective” —Roberta Gould, West Hurley NY
• “When I Was” —Yianna Schneckloth, Mundelein IL
• “Imagination” —Howard J Kogan, Ashland MA
• “In the Dark” —Mimi Moriarty, Voorheesville NY
• “Unravelling the Knot” —Mrinalini Harchandrai, Mumbai, India
• “Tambococha Puff” —Maria Castro Dominguez, Canary Islands, Spain
• “Rise” —Siddhi Kamble, Mumbai, India
• “Becoming Chair” —Feby Joseph, Mumbai, India
• “Call Back” —Susan Kress, Saratoga Springs NY
• “The War Room” —John Paul Davies, Naven, County Meath, Ireland
• “Slow Capture” —Philip Good, East Nassau NY
• “Black boy’s miracle” —Ugonnaora Owoh, Nsukka, Nigeria
• “Surf Sestina” —Niamh Prior, Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland
• “Recipe for Timekeeping” —Liv McKee, Troy N

This contest had 303 entrants from 37 states and DC and from 9 other nations. There were 27 finalists which were ranked by the judges as follows:

First Place, bonus for community poet, bonus for local poet, $700
Beyond the Naupaka Hedge—Dawn Marar of Delmar NY

Second Place, $250
The Resolution of Neglect Syndrome—Jen Karetnick of Miami Shores FL

Third Place, $125
Plantation’s Corn—Paul Weidknecht of Phillipsburg NJ

Fourth Place, $100
On the Rising Prices of Corn at Festivals—Michelle Chen of Whitestone NY

Special Founder’s Award, $90
Now, morning…—Karen Fabiane of Troy NY

Honorable Mentions (9), $65

• Stopping By The Columbarium—Jackie Craven of Schenectady NY
• Siobhan In Washington Park (age 46)—Sylvia Barnard of Albany NY
• Argiope Aurantia—Pat Tompkins of San Mateo CA
• American Woman—Lucia Cherciu of Poughkeepsie NY
• Don’t Read This One Out Loud—Merisa Dion of Derry NH
• A Brief History of Fun—Howard Kogan of Stephentown NY
• Shipwreck—Joe Krausman of Menands NY
• Earthquakes in Oklahoma—Lauren Elizabeth Delucchi of Washington DC
• Nondescript—Ashley Hyun of Tenafly NJ

Other Finalists

• I loved you long before I even met you—Kirsten Textor of Lyngby, Denmark
• To a Child at Enlightenment—J.C. Elkin of Annapolis MD
• Winter Walk—Francis DiClemente of Syracuse NY
• Let Me View Life-The Way the Heart Feels…—Jennifer Circosta of Campbell Hall NY
• “all told”—Joel Best of Niskayuna NY
• Inside the Picture Frame-For Aiyana Stanley-Jones—Keli Osborn of Eugene OR
• Missing you—Carol Kloskowski of Christmas MI
• Sad Nymph—Betsy Butcher of Iowa City IA
• Richard Nixon Must Die (for all the victims of the War)—Dan Wilcox of Albany NY
• Salt Is The Spice Of Life—Philip Good of East Nassau NY
• modie badanov—Canon Pau of Los Angeles CA
• On a Night With a Poet—Sally Rhoades of Albany NY
• Meaning of Man—Erin Gillett of Los Angeles CA

First Place, $500
Your Service — Cheryl A. Rice, Kingston, NY

Second Place, $250
The Osterias Are Tipping Prosecco — Ken Holland, Fishkill, NY

Third Place, $125
What Was Once Solid — Phyllis Hillinger, Delmar, NY

Fourth Place, $100
Granted Dominion — Andy Fogle, Saratoga Springs, NY

Best  Out of State, $300
Anabasis By Night — Marc Levy, Salem, MA

High Honorable Mentions (4), $75

• Not My President — Karen Fabiane, Troy, NY
• The Moon, a Blood Orange — Mary Leonard, Kingston, NY
• Pipe — Dianne Sefcik, Westerlo, NY
• It is the shelter of each other that people live — Mark O’Brien, Clarksville, NY

Honorable Mentions (6), $45

• The Dance of Dish and Glass — Anthony Bernini, Troy, NY
• Lovestory — Dineen Carta, Ganesvoort, NY
• Linoleum — Michelle Chen, Whitestone, NY
• Dr. Kwan Kew Lai’s Refrigerator — Jodi Ackerman Frank, Argyle, NY
• Dissolving the Distance Between You — Carol Graser, Galway, NY
• Dream a Little Dream of Me: Visting Louis Armstrong’s Birthplace — Catherine Norr, Glenville, NY

Other Finalists

• Organ Lessons — Joe Krausman, Albany, NY
• 9th Period — Amy Reynolds Comtois, Cohoes, NY
• A Love Sonnet to February — Tess Lecuyer, Albany, NY
• Directions for Success — Paul Hotton Amidon, Albany, NY
• Summer, Maine, 1968 — Virginia Bach Folger, Schenectady, NY
• What Marks the Spot is the Cost of Doing Business — Jen Karetnick, Miami Shores, FL
• Symphony — Martin Willitts Jr., Syracuse, NY
• Of Leave-takings — Sharmon Gazaway, Calhoun, GA
• Where Utopians Sport Recoilless Doc Martins — Tom Corrado, Middleburgh, NY
• Tents of Jordan — Therese Broderick, Albany, NY
• Litany — Kathleen Smith, Loudonville, NY
• Squid Fishing in Halong Bay — Bunkong Tuon,m Niskayuna, NY
• Before you know gratitude — Nancy Klepsch
• Maria Lactans — Barbara Ungar, Saratoga Springs, NY
• Braque’s Athena 2931 — Sara Wyman, Rosendale, NY
• Dear Daughters our World Spins Round — Rebecca Irene, Portland, ME
• Those Days Are Gone — Tanzila Rehmat, Islamabad, Pakistan

First Place, $500
“Open Wounds” —Martin Willitts Jr., Syracuse NY

Second Place, $300
“The Hours” —Richard Foerster, Cape Neddick ME

Third Place, $175
“Then He Begged Me to Go Back with Him and Rescue the Others” —Rebecca Schumejda, Castleton NY

Fourth Place, $125
“Rhapsody in Blue, Playing at the Egg in Albany” —Kathleen Smith, Loudonville NY

Kogan/Wilcox International Award, $100
“The Selective Lad” —Okere Godsent, Lagos, Nigeria

High Honorable Mentions (4) $90

• “Thembi’s Initiation” —Maroula Blades, Berlin, Germany
• “We Pass Through Here” —Judy Durrant, Blairgowrie, Victoria, Australia
• “Boom Times at the Shake Shanty” —Ken Holland, Fishkill NY
• “Warp Wolves” —Sylvia Anne Telfer, Rutherglen, Scotland, UK

Honorable Mentions (8) $70

• “Strawberry Fields Forever” —James H Duncan, Albany NY
• “On Hearing that Crayola is Retiring Dandelion” —Mary Kathryn Jablonski, Saratoga Springs NY
• “Antinomy” —Olivia McKee, Troy NY
• “A Poet Who Cannot Support Himself Takes a Job Pouring Cement” —Mimi Moriarty, Voorheesville NY
• “Until the Young are Reared” —Lani O’Hanlon, Crobally Sean Phobal, Co. Waterford, Ireland
• “Afternoon” —Chidinma Opaigbeogu, Fort Washington, MD
• “I want you to know/I was raped” —Mary Panza, Albany NY
• “Therese’s Balcony” —Dan Wilcox, Albany NY

Other Finalists

• “Man Over Woman” —Kgothatso Dinale, Pretoria, South Africa
• “Run the Lightning” —Laura Lucas, Seattle WA
• “Broken English” —Daniel Summerhill, Oakland CA
• “Dragon’s Eye” —Cindy Bousquet Harris, Mentone CA
• “The Wolf” —Katie Sieracki, Los Angeles, CA
• “The Thing” —Oran McCormack-Grant, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, Ireland
• “Cat Print” —Sylvia Barnard, Albany NY
• “Reconsider” —Steve Trimm, Albany NY
• “The Word” —Hannah Bleier, Brooklyn NY
• “Christina’s World” —Jeremy Stern, Bournemouth, Dorset UK
• “The Three Kings” —Paul Amidon, Albany NY
• “Lust” —Stuart Bartow, Salem NY
• “Words Are My Garden” —Rona Fitzgerald, Glasgow UK
• “I Survived” —Jodi Ackerman Frank, Argyle NY
• “Here upon the Beach” —Aoife Canning, Dungiven, County Derry, Ireland
• “Yerushalayim” —Allison Darcy, Oxford NC
• “Goodnight Kiss” —Ursula Meany, Kilshanny, Co. Clare, Ireland
• “Adoption Tale” —Erin Jin Mei O’Malley, York PA
• “Bathing Your Feet” —Lucia Cherciu, Poughkeepsie NY
• “sing my dear bird” —Britney Bang, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• “The Horologist” —Art O Suilleabhain, Corr na Mona, Co. Galway, Ireland