Filling the Filigree

by Alan S. Bridges and Michael Dylan Welch

First published in Mariposa #52, Spring/Summer 2025, page 29. Originally written in March of 2023 by email.

the way water

slowly carves a duck

driftwood Alan

uncle’s chess set

still half-finished Michael

near the beaver lodge

a quarter moon cut-gnawed

from a poplar tree Alan

filling the filigree

of the painted lady

afternoon sun Michael

the lost art

of making charcoal Alan

end of the day . . .

my whittling whistle

a little slower Michael