Tony Quagliano Poetry Award Winners

I used to nag my Grandma

buy me toys, buy me toys.

And whenevah she bought me one,

Grandpa would go "Too much omocha."

So raddah than get da scoldings

I used to colleck stuff I found

around da house, like

matchbook covers,

bottlecaps,

used stamps.

I even tried collecking rocks

but wuzn't really

interesting to me.

My Grandpa kept saying I should

colleck leaves.

I tink he wuz trowing da hints like

he wanted me for help him

rake da yard.

Den one day

when I wuz emptying da rubbish can

I found one used battery.

Wuz real diff'rent looking.

Wuz deep blue

and bronze color,

wit one cat drawing on top.

Da shiny metallic colors

wuz pretty trips.

My Mom toll my Dad

abunai, dangerous if I start

collecking dat kine,

bumbye da acid leak

and might go insai my eye.

God gave us one perfect son

and now this is how we

take care?

I wuz perfeck my Mom sed.

I tot she wuz perfeck too.

I wuz happy God gave her

to me.

My Dad just rolled his eyes

cuz my Mom wuz always worrying about me.

So for make her happy, he toll me

when brown stuff starts for come out

den das when I had for trow 'em away.

Da brown stuff is acid, poison he sed.

But da only time I seen acid come out

wuz when I leff

da flashlight on for like

couple years

and so all da electricity wen go leak.

I figured

so long as

da battery

wuzn't insai anyting

electricals

den nevah need werry.

Safe. Can keep 'em forevah.

One day my Mom took me Shirokiya.

She wuz happy I nevah ask for one toy

in long time

so she sed I can have one

brand new battery,

anyone I wanted.

And Shirokiya had all da

colorful-kine kines from Japan.

Aftah we leff,

My Mom buckled me in my seat

and I put my new green battery

insai my giant nori container.

Me and my Mom wuz

jus driving back home

when all of a sudden

we got bang from da side.

I seen my battery jar

buss open

and all my batteries

wen fly all ova da place.

My Mom wuzn't moving.

She wuzn't checking on me

for see if I wuz okay.

Planny people wuz looking at us

from on top da sidewalk.

And I seen

planny blood leaking

from my Mom.

So much blood

wuz coming out

I knew God wouldn't

let me keep her

anymore.

One

: the hotels and their views

turning their faces one behind the other

as if it is all right there

they shift as we do

we see straight to the sea floor

Two : beach

known and known

half-bodied crescent

sand washed steep to the shore

stand of hau trees

wind-blown

salt-weighed

stand of picnickers

clinging to their plates

One

: the sea run

One

: the selling

Two :

I pull up tidewrack

with oysters

each with twelve tiny arms

grooved and puckered

opening and closing

sticking out their bodies

She sells opihi by the highway side

She sells postcards suntans beachfront

seashores seashore sea

Three :

deep in the deep blood

grain moving against grain

or is it the salt dense and crackling

swell pull and wake

I held that blue hand and willing

went under