47th New Millennium Award for Poetry
Dale Cottingham of Edmond, Oklahoma for “The Lamentation of Rev. Daniel S. Butrick”
When the law of the land is injustice, there is but one brave act left: to bear witness, to ensure such atrocities will not be erased from history or obscured by propaganda. In “The Lamentation of Rev. Daniel Butrick,” Cottingham dissolves time and space to remind us that the battle for our better nature wages on, and that empathy remains our strongest weapon. When ugly truths no longer hide in darkness, we will thank the poets for dragging them into the light.