Smouldering
by Alan S. Bridges, Jacquie Pearce, and Michael Dylan Welch
First published in Vines #5, November 2021, page 23. Originally written by email, May 10–16, 2018, except for the third verse, originally written 17 September 1998, Foster City, California.
winding, unwinding
in my burn pile
a missed ornament Alan
the pot plant too big to hide
up in smoke Jacquie
fire-charred fence—
the neighbour’s dog
half way underneath Michael
chasing lightning strikes
for black morels Alan
summer night
the ghost story cut short
by a flaming marshmallow Jacquie
my autobiography
still smouldering Michael