Emily Dickinson Prize Star

Submitting to the Emily Dickinson prize today.
Stuck on which poems to include,
and their format choices are so limited.
Only word or rich text.
I will not be able to add digital video.
Nothing movie- star glamorous.
Perhaps it is too old fashioned for this girl?

Do I send written word that neatly fits on cream colored stock?

Are they looking for Kyrielle Sonnets with my idiosyncratic syntax?

Blair and I found two star fish on our walk yesterday.
The recent swell stole the sand off Strands Beach
 leaving creatures who I thought gone from my life, exposed.

Reminiscent raw memories of you flooded up with the crazy star.

Looking down pulsing with light,
his spines are desguised as pebbles,
and bits of Ty Nant blue glass now sanded by the sea.
The Victorians employed blue glass to indicate poison inside.

If Emily met you
(if you venture into her garden,
could she travel to Gloucester to experience the coast?)
would she recognize your venom?


I buried him in the sand and tide to protect other hearts.

"Star poison" image and words copyright © 2012 Caroline Gerardo