The judges were unanimous in their deep appreciation of “Love on a Low Flame” by Amanda Huggins. While the longing for a lover is expressed amidst the passing of seasons, the final line reverberates winningly, as if someone truly has come home. Apt phrase after apt phrase were also noted elsewhere in the piece, which prompted the judges to choose it as the winner of Second Prize.

* * *

Love on a Low Flame

The house feels hollow now you’ve gone
and there’s no one to call out to
when the DJ plays our favourite song.

I long for the familiar sound of your key in the lock,
your voice in the hallway
at the same time each day.

Tadaima!

I listen for your footsteps in the street below,
hear the tinkle of laughter, sweet as temple bells,
as girls hurry by, kimonos bright with peonies.

When summer wanes, the breeze spins restless leaves,
tangles wind chimes, rattles paper screens,
watches lanterns dance in empty doorways.

Sparrows take their roll call on the wire
and a lone heron flies low along the Kamo
with all Kyoto’s quiet beauty stowed beneath his wings.

So now I will wait out winter, warm our love on a low flame,
fashion its wings from fallen feathers,
anchor it with stones.

I whisper to you in the dark,
breathe my greeting into cupped hands,
hold it close to my ribs in readiness for your return.

Okaeri!


Amanda Huggins is the author of the novellas All Our Squandered Beauty and Crossing the Lines, as well as four collections of stories and poetry. She has received numerous awards for her travel writing and short fiction, and her debut poetry collection, The Collective Nouns for Birds, won a Saboteur Award in 2020.