a comment from this year's judge,          Joshua Poteat:

"The lovely and delicate innocence of this poem glows with the lemon-scented air of memory.   It’s a small, beautiful moment in the life of a child.   I admire its tenderness, its simplicity, its ability to conjure the past into a sensory-filled and lyrically driven “sonnet.”   The image of the washcloth being puffed into a dumpling is the perfect symbol for childhood.   Sometimes such memories are all we have to guide us through the dark world."