When I imagine my mother’s body, spectral
questions float: how the cage
of bone protects the heart, how she sounded
near death once or if bird cried
a song near the river.  I imagine it like gel
in a body of water, a jellyfish in the sea,
a gasping squid.

                      If I could touch the body,
I would go for the neck
where air meets air, despair swapped for light
flashes, cusps of cut lavender,
cups of the silkworms you may have loved,
the new

This contest is run by Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. It is for unpublished poems in English language (or poems translated into English) on the theme of “Encountering”.

If you are submitting a translation, please make sure you have the permission from the original author.

Rules:
-Each poet can submit up to two poems (no more than 60 lines long each).
-Poems must be previously unpublished.
-Entry is free.

Closing date:
15 January 2012

Prizes:
-First: £50, Second: £30,