Helicopter Seeds

by Michael Dylan Welch and Margaret Chula

Written 16 May to 18 September 1995, between Foster City, California and Portland, Oregon. First published in Northwest Literary Forum #26, Spring 1997 page 11.

my fingers trace

a groove of weathered wood—

the happy buddha Michael

twirling down from new maples

helicopter seeds Margaret

flecks of dry paint—

poplar root

bending the fence Michael

angular tilt

of the skateboarder—

his scraped knees Margaret

the rattle of our walk

across the train trestle Michael

a raven lands

on the head of a grizzly

—totem pole Margaret