Gala Melancholia

At the end of the day there is a celebration
at the rehab center across the street,
which is what my neighbors call their home
facing west, watching every sunset
as if it’s a channel, a show they can’t miss.

In my yard, two morning doves rest in the grass
as if we have a formal meeting about why the trees
keep leaving. Between wildfires and clear cuts,
I have some explaining to do. As I talk to the doves,
I hear my neighbors toast the sunset,

toast the kingfisher who screeches by
like some sort of party favor. I think
about how easy it is to both love and hate
endings, and when I turn to tell the doves
about how sometimes I wonder,

What if we don’t get through this? I hear
the flap of their wings as they rise into the pink
sky filled with confetti birds, streamers
of perfectly-placed clouds, and right before
the finale, the sunbursts, and what is left of light.

.

American Commerce

Despite concerns, we were still surrounded
by a thousand lilies.

When they said money, we said plant.
Wildflowers? Everywhere.

Despite the economy, there is enough
jasmine in a garden, enough blue sky
for two.

You wore the jewelry
of daisies as I fell into the satin
sheets of a neighbor’s sundried wash.

Despite concerns, I never trusted nickel
trees. But cherries always tasted sweet
enough, no slot machine needed.

Our portfolio’s wilted, frosted over,
never as strong as the bank account
of rosebush growing next to
our needs-to-be-painted garage.

We’re wealthy in Georgia O’Keeffe
tulips blooming by the birdbath,

wealthy in Gold Rush, Gold Fever
blooms and all the new growth

of the saltwater roses, the sea thrift
continuing to stretch in our yard,
even after we tried to cut it back.

.

Photo of Vancouver during 2017 wildfires by Hiromi Goto.



Kelli Russell Agodon is a Seattle-area poet, writer, editor, book designer, and co-founder of Two Sylvias Press. She was the winner of Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Prize in Poetry as well as a two-time finalist for the Washington State Book Awards. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, New England Review, and O, The Oprah Magazine. She is currently working on her fourth collection of poems. Follow her on Twitter at @KelliAgodon. 

Hiromi Goto is an active member of the literary community, a writing instructor, editor, photographer, and the mother of two (big) children. She has served in numerous writer-in-residencies and currently lives in BC, working on an adult novel and a graphic novel.  Follow her on Instagram at @hiromigotowrites.