Timberline Lodge

by Ce Rosenow and Michael Dylan Welch

First published in Northwest Literary Forum in 1995. Republished in Hedgerow #135, September 2021, page 21 (without remembering that this rengay had been published before). Originally written 25 October 1994 at Mt. Hood, Oregon. +

along the trail

just enough snow

for a snowball Ce

she fingers her promise ring

clouds around the summit Michael

a chipmunk

between two boulders—

empty chairlift rattles Ce

my sudden shiver—

the flow of dry grass

at the timberline Michael

a gliding crow

deadwood shadows lengthen Ce

postcard in my pocket—

the slow walk

to the parking lot Michael