Wait

Notes

Notes “Wife” is for my husband, Jordan. “Velata” is a portrait of a woman long believed to be Raphael’s mistress. However, cleaning of the painting several years ago revealed a gold ring on her finger . There is now speculation that the painter and his subject were secretly married. “Salt” takes as its epigraph a note from Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Dr. George M. Gould and Dr. Walter L. Pyle, first published in 1896 by Julian Press, Inc. “The Ladder Tree” tells the story of Axel Erlandson and his roadside attraction, the Tree Circus. “Clean” is for my friend Allison Armbrister. -73- The Brittingham Prize in Poetry Ronald Wallace, General Editor Places/Everyone 1 Jim Daniels C. K.Williams, Judge, 1985 Talking to Strangers 1 Patricia Dobler Maxine Kumin, Judge, 1986 Saving the Young Men of Vienna 1 David Kirby Mona Van Duyn, Judge, 1987 Pocket Sundial 1 Lisa Zeidner Charles Wright, Judge, 1988 Slow Joy 1 Stephanie Marlis Gerald Stern, Judge, 1989 Level Green 1 Judith Vollmer Mary Oliver, Judge, 1990 Salt 1 Renée Ashley Donald Finkel, Judge, 1991 Sweet Ruin 1 Tony Hoagland Donald Justice, Judge 1992 The Red Virgin:A Poem of Simone Weil 1 Stephanie Strickland Lisel Mueller, Judge, 1993 The Unbeliever 1 Lisa Lewis Henry Taylor, Judge, 1994 Old and New Testaments 1 Lynn Powell Carolyn Kizer, Judge, 1995 Brief Landing on the Earth’s Surface 1 Juanita Brunk Philip Levine, Judge, 1996 And Her Soul Out of Nothing 1 Olena Kalytiak Davis Rita Dove, Judge, 1997 Bardo 1 Suzanne Paola Donald Hall, Judge, 1998 A Field Guide to the Heavens 1 Frank X. Gaspar Robert Bly, Judge, 1999 A Path between Houses 1 Greg Rappleye Alicia Ostriker, Judge, 2000 Horizon Note 1 Robin Behn Mark Doty, Judge, 2001 Acts of Contortion 1 Anna George Meek Edward Hirsch, Judge, 2002 The Room Where I Was Born 1 Brian Teare Kelly Cherry, Judge, 2003 Sea of Faith 1 John Brehm Carl Dennis, Judge, 2004 Jagged with Love 1 Susanna Childress Billy Collins, Judge, 2005 New Jersey 1 Betsy Andrews Linda Gregerson, Judge, 2007 Meditations on Rising and Falling 1 Philip Pardi David St. John, Judge, 2008 Bird Skin Coat 1 Angela Sorby Marilyn Nelson, Judge, 2009 The Mouths of Grazing Things 1 Jennifer Boyden Robert Pinsky, Judge, 2010 Wait 1 Alison Stine Cornelius Eady, Judge, 2011 ...