Archivos de Categoría: III Version

1ST PLACE My grandmother makes steak and onions in the same cast iron frying pan four days a week for her husband of fifty years. He sits at the kitchen table, waiting to be served, reading the sports section of the Herald, sipping ginger ale that replaced his beer decades ago. His wife, fifteen years […]

2ND PLACE For four years you talked to this boy a state away and then you graduated and were both in Boston. It was too good to be true and after he voiced his discontent, you met one last time to end officially. You walked anxiously as you were unceremoniously dumped and regret choosing Faneuil […]

3RD PLACE Her love is sweet and warm. Softer than the masa she kneads with those hands full of wrinkles and worries. Tired hands that have never seen rest. Hands that frantically search a forehead for a fever, or slip you rolled up dollar bills with a chuckle and wink. They carry stories, holding the […]

1ST PLACE YOUTH CATEGORY While I was waiting for the bus to come, I saw an old man walking with a cane. When he got to the bus stop, he sat on the bench. He asked me what time the bus was coming. I replied, “In 19 minutes.” And he began to say “19 minutes” […]

2ND PLACE YOUTH CATEGORY As I walk outside, the aroma of gunpowder fumes my nose and the sky lights up with beautiful colors. Little kids run around with pop sticks in their hands as the males light the fireworks in the middle of the street then gallop over to the sidewalk before the roaring booms […]

3RD PLACE YOUTH CATEGORY I was born across the river, but I’m an Eastie kid through and through. Walking down the streets, you can hear folks from all over speaking languages ranging from Spanish to Vietnamese, and the older crowd chatting from their balconies in Italian. The aroma of arroz con pollo as you walk […]

HONORABLE MENTIONS He feeds them because he dreams of flight. He dreams of what it would be like to be lifted off the ground, to rise over the treetops, to float above the skyscrapers. Each person below would hurry along in their own lives. The squirrels would stash nuts away. The Green Line would weave […]

HONORABLE MENTIONS We check in at 5:00. A brief staycation in a haunted hotel. The walls are mahogany, golden chandeliers creating shimmery reflections on the grain. Plush carpets absorb my wandering footsteps; I barely leave a trace. We sip cold martinis inside the bar, under clippings of presidents and starlets who graced the booths long […]

HONORABLE MENTIONS It snowed for ten minutes before I left for work this morning, so I know today will be a good day. Today is Violet’s birthday, and she turns four; the last in my classroom to hit that milestone. To these kids, every birthday is still magical, and this light snowfall is a present […]

HONORABLE MENTIONS One winter’s day, when pushcarts crowding the sidewalk in front of BU tempted students with stale pretzels and bloated hot dogs, I turned from my pretzel cart to watch the bearded hot dog seller who was tempting me. We stared at each other while he played his concertina with frozen fingers, and I […]