First Prize Peter Sears Poetry 2023-2024
Sophie Borgstahl – First Prize
Ten Days After Treatment
Nana smiled
when I asked to brush her hair.Â
She sat at our sticky tableÂ
and my fears folded
like a napkin beside a plate. I combed
one pull, and another, but a rattleÂ
snaked my throatÂ
when her hair came-free,Â
snowing tufts on her shoulders.
I hid silver swishes in my pocket
and asked if she’d want fish for dinner.

