Brian Komei Dempster
Blue flame
                                        in the eye's corner,
stove on
                    high, we brace
                                        for his flint
                    and spark, our dark
surprise, his smile
                                        jolts, head
                    unleashed, little body
                                                          arched, straining
                                        in the high
chair, we stand
                                  to face
                    anything, she steadies
                                        his tray, eggs bubble
                    in the pot, I lunge
                                        for his spoon, his purple
elephant, water boils
                                        over sides, we look
                    to each other, sense
the sizzle, his bowl
                    clattering, a reverse
                                                        crater, we shake off
                                        faults, shells
                    crack, window
shut, we smell
                                        the heat, hardened
                                                        yolks, his brain's singed
                    gray, the scorched
black dome,
                we are all
                                hollowed out.
from the book SEIZE / Four Way Books
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“Seize” centers on an everyday domestic moment in my life. Drawing upon the experience of raising my epileptic, non-verbal son, Brendan, as he is seized and trapped in a place beyond us, my wife and I seek equilibrium. Amidst the chaos of a burning flame, bubbling pot, and falling toy elephant, we attempt to remain steadfast even as “we are all / hollowed out.” 
Photo of Arthur Sze
Arthur Sze Wins 2021 Shelley Memorial Award

"Established by the will of Mary P. Sears in 1930, The Shelley Memorial Award recognizes poetic genius and is bestowed upon one distinguished American poet each year. Sze was selected by Ben Olguín and Vijay Seshadri."

via POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA
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What Sparks Poetry:
Sonya Chung on Denis Johnson's "The Incognito Lounge"

"Rereading it—both on the page and listening to a recording of Johnson reading it aloud—has been like bathing in enchanted waters: deep pleasure, stimulation of youthful muscle memory, refreshment. Johnson marries the gritty American mundane with the gorgeous sublime like no other writer."
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