Freezer Burn

by Max Verhart and Michael Dylan Welch

First published in Presence #55, June 2016, page 63. Written via email between Den Bosch, Netherlands, and Sammamish, Washington, on the theme of burning things. We wrote the first half of this rengay in 2012, the last half in 2014.

burning incense

scents our silence—

wet windowpanes Max

the candle flickers

behind the egg Michael

camping alone—

the potatoes in the fire

as the sun sets Max

workmen with a ladder—

the smell of pepper spray

in the campus quad Michael

the valley fog mingles

with wood smoke Max

Thanksgiving dinner—

the taste of freezer burn

in the turnips Michael