Rain into River

by Michael Dylan Welch and Tanya McDonald

First published in WA129, Sage Hill Press, 2017, page 145, available on Amazon. This anthology of Washington State poets, edited by state poet laureate Tod Marshall, features 129 poems, one for each year of statehood (counting to 2018, when Marshall’s tenure as poet laureate ended). The book won the Washington Voices Award at the 2018 Washington State Book Awards (at which I was on stage as a contributor). See the book’s contributor list and the book launch video, recorded on 13 April 2017 at the state capitol building in Olympia. This rengay was originally written on 8 November 2008 on the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston, and from there to Port Townsend, Washington. + + +

dark clouds—

the ferry’s wake

whitens the ocean Michael

between bay and sky

the gold of maple leaves Tanya

pinking sunrise—

the jogger’s altered path

by the overflowing lake Michael

rain into river . . .

a flash of blue

as the ruddy duck dives Tanya

the puddle muddled

by red rubber boots Michael

silvered with dew,

the spider web

on a sand pail Tanya