Second Place Winner: Caleb Moss Below the Waterline He cracked jokes.   Inconsequential.   Surface late October pre-snow pond ice smooth. Practiced plastic smiles..   Special effects tooth gleam.   Hardy handshake. Three pumps to many.. Hard to figure out what to like .... Or dislike... Shell man where are you in this? Come to me alone I can find you through the steam of crafted illusion Come to me alone I can find you where you infant crawl and bawl so morosely Come to me alone I can map that labyrinth you walled up to keep you safe She talked with her hands.    Laughing to loud to bury obvious discomfort.    Less obvious disdain. Stories emphatically spun.  Soap opera script re-runs.  Can I push pause, re-wind, or erase, erase, erase? Painted paste on nails. No contact back patted embrace. Three pats to many. Hard to figure out where the make up stops.....Or starts... Shell woman where are you in this? Come to me alone I can find you by the taste of primordial tears Come to me alone I can roll back the stale pale layers Come to me alone I can gently palm trace each line of You truth They reach with stiff arms.     The dye comes off in the midst of it.     Familiar bars and notes. No discordance.     Canned, edited, saccharinized just so.   Chase me as I run. Just don't catch me. Public persona, private scared despair.    Talking over under around and through. Three snarls to many. Hard to figure out where the meaning is....or isn't... Shell lovers where are you in this?   Come to me together I can wrap your distant words in bows of shared truth Come to me together I can align your shielded eyes Come to me together I can dance your meaning steps sweetly gently easily ....please... Come to me alone. Come to me together. I can find you...             ...I can find you...                          ...I can find you...  ...I can. Back to June/05 Winners Home