This year's poems were written in 8 different cities / locations in 5 different countries, so they contain the energy of traveling and being away from "home." I'm actually not particularly fond of this years' (as much as previous years), but perhaps they will grow on me with time. They always seem to do that. I felt I was being too narrative at times, too cliché, too maudlin, too philosophical / introspective, too whiny. I had already been away from home (Seattle) for a total of 3 months this year, and the exhaustion of traveling, living out of suitcases, displacement, lack of attachment, etc. shows in the work. Although I had more difficulty waking up at 3:15 AM than in previous years (am I getting too old for this?!?), I do like the language of the hypnogogic world that creeps in. I fell asleep several times while writing, made up words, and drifted off into places I couldn't even remember visiting when I woke up the next morning. Only twice was I actually awake at 3:15, and I managed to pull myself out of bed 4 or 5 times, but the rest of the time I literally rolled over and started writing. Unfortunately some of the text was illegible, and I have tried to interpret as much as possible, but there are ***** marks in the places where I just couldn't figure out what I had written.

Thanks again to all who participated.