Stick Figures

by Julie Schwerin and Michael Dylan Welch

First published in Frogpond 44:2, Spring/Summer 2021, page 81. Originally written mostly in April of 2020.

winter morning

thirty-six Play-Doh

snowmen Julie

home isolation

I tell the kids I’m bored Michael

finding my flashlight app

a tunnel between

their blanket fort and mine Julie

record cold—

the bulb burns out

in the Easy-Bake Oven Michael

binging all six seasons

of Master Chef Junior Julie

spring evening—

the fridge magnet holds

our stick-figure family Michael