- Ryan Diaz – A Vow of Poverty
With the juxtaposition of piousness and sacredness to desire and indulgence, Ryan Diaz surprises us with his "A Vow of Poverty".
- Joanne Alfano – Hope
Positively radiant, Joanne Alfano's "Hope" is a poem that crashes through darkness with its opening lines like a clarion call.
- Sheila Lynch-Benttinen – Equations
Massachusetts poet Sheila Lynch-Benttinen's "Equations" is a work of heavy content, juxtaposed with simple elegance and sparseness.
- Judy Mathews – After Weeks Without Rain in Northwest Ohio
"After Weeks Without Rain in Northwest Ohio" by poet Judy Mathews is an offering or a prayer to the natural blessings of a place.
- Erika Seshadri – Eviction Notice
As gently as the narrator of the poem relocates a spider, Erika Seshadri carefully places her quiet poem "Eviction Notice" at our feet.