Whiteout

by Michael Dylan Welch and David Terelinck

Winner of second place in the 2018 San Francisco International Rengay Competition sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California. First published in Mariposa #41, Autumn/Winter 2019, page 27. Originally written in November and December of 2016.

first snow—

empty seats

in the passing bus Michael

last year’s Santa

sentenced to life David

mountain pass—

the pickup in front of us

loses its chains Michael

an avalanche

of January mail—

divorce papers David

the ice scraper breaks

on the new windshield Michael

whiteout

on the birth certificate

the father’s name left blank David

Commentary by the Rengay Contest Judge

“This poem is much darker than my first-place choice, but no less well crafted. The linkages between verses and the quality of each link are exceptional. I was profoundly moved by this rengay as it moved from empty seats on a bus to whiteout on a birth certificate, with a series of catastrophes in between.”

—Deborah P Kolodji