Up
First published in our book, Seven Suns / Seven Moons (Seattle, Washington: NeoPoiesis Press, 2016), pages 46–53. Originally written 7 April 2009, at SoulFood Books in Redmond, Washington. See also our two rengay from the book, “High Score” and “Torpedo,” and the book’s afterword.
by Michael Dylan Welch and Tanya McDonald
first warm day
seven suns
are not enough Michael
seven moons
peer over the eaves Tanya
seven suns
the new immigrant
conjugates a verb Michael
wrapped in a frayed quilt
all seven moons Tanya
the fifth
of the seven suns
eclipsed Michael
seven moons
short a piece of silver Tanya
the treasure
hidden inside an egg
seven suns Tanya
playing golf
on the seventh moon Michael
do you like butter?
she holds seven suns
to his chin Tanya
seven moons
he pours her wine Michael
seven suns
the digits
of this phone number Tanya
once upon a time
seven moons Michael
lost in the weave
of a plaid slipper
seven suns Tanya
at the juvie center
seven moons Michael
the baby shakes
the seven suns
to pieces Tanya
sevenmoonlight
on the surgery scar Michael
seven suns
the black hen
eats another blossom Tanya
my head shrunken
by the seven moons Michael
seven suns
our tickets booked
to Mazatlán Michael
the sandcastle holds
seven honeymoons Tanya
arctic wind
seven suns
for seven brothers Michael
after the earthquake
seven silent moons Tanya
the butcher knife
stuck in the cheese rind
seven suns Michael
seven moons
what’s in a name? Tanya
a sun is a sun
is a sun is a sun is a sun
is a sun is a sun Michael
thistle seeds
scattering the seven moons Tanya
sevensunburned
the stranded pod
of pilot whales Michael
circulating the petition
seven moons Tanya
seven suns
the time it takes
to say I’m jobless Michael
carousel horse nodding
to the tune of seven moons Tanya
empty stadium
a hummingbird feeds
on seven sunsets Tanya
seven moons
since we met Michael
grinding the last
seven suns of coffee
for the unexpected guest Tanya
added to my star chart
seven moons Michael
seven suns
strung among the leis
around his neck Tanya
up up and away
to the seven moons Michael