ISSUE 10 POETRY
Winter 2020
Photo by Adelia Ritchie
Photo by Adelia Ritchie
ISSUE 10 POETRY
Winter 2020
Water Drop
By Mahathi Mangipudi
Wide strokes of grey paint the sky
On the windward side of the Cascades
Air masses from the Pacific Ocean
Saturated with water vapor
Condense into little droplets
Cascading down the slopes
In our first Autumn rain shower
Dry, greedy soil quenches its thirst
As cool drops infiltrate through the ground
Only to be licked by the roots of a nearby Douglas Fir
Soon returning to the atmosphere in transpiration
Much of the precipitation continues its journey
As storm-runoff on pavement and harsh asphalt
Running downwards
Filling our streams with water
And toxins picked up on the journey
At least the salmon are able to swim upstream
Some water freezes
Drifting down as perfect little snowflakes
Compressed into our mountains
Autumn turns to spring
and the fresh snow melt trickles down mountainsides
Into our water pipes
The water drop tumbles down my glass with the gush of the tap
Cool and refreshing as it slides down my throat
Humid as it evaporates, breathed out in my next breath
Never once leaving the cycle
To precipitate back into
A drop of water
In the Puget Sound
Sol Duc River, Olympic National Park. Photo by Adelia Ritchie
Resonance
by Peter G. Quinn
Thank you river and ocean. On
a boat, on your water, I was
tested and embraced
taken from and towards.
I am insignificant. I am great.
I have sent ashes towards you:
my father, who knew more
about you than I —
fell into you — twice;
you gave him back once.
My sister, who felt you
were closer to him
than anywhere else
wanted to be close to both.
You are a lesson
of depth, of breadth,
unfathomable other places
inhospitable, uncaring,
relentless, foreign.
You are a lesson
of mother
holding life inside you
of gods
the light and wind upon you
teachers, humble, belonging
ego found and lost.
of small
nothing shows on you
nothing
of big
you cover
you swallow
everything
always will.
Photo by John F. Williams
Carbon Dioxide
By Mahathi Mangipudi
Biking off the SR 520,
I exhale carbon dioxide plenty
Floating around in the sky
Until inhaled by Salmonberry
CO₂ helps Salmonberry photosynthesize
Her leaves flourish and berries grow ripe
Eaten and savored by Swainson’s thrush
Only to be exhaled once more, out of the bird’s pipes
The molecule of carbon dioxide continues in a rush
Spirals down to be absorbed by some underbrush
Trapped in a leaf, now starting to decay
With nutrients broken down, it turns to mush
Tumbling down into Kelsey Creek, it may
Release carbon dioxide in to the air, or in the water it will stay
Maybe consumed by a land or stream insect
Turning into a salmon’s prey
The carbon dioxide molecule, now in the salmon is one small aspect
Of our relationship with the Puget Sound
The molecule of life, its helps us connect
With one another and nature, depicting our own carbon cycle — ubiquitous and round
Mahathi Mangipudi is a senior at Interlake High School. She is a social activist, avid debater, and an environmental enthusiast. She represented the United States at the 2018 International Earth Science Olympiad in Thailand, where she earned a bronze and silver medals. She is pushing for local change towards a more sustainable community through the creation of the first Student Climate Action Plan.
Peter Quinn published ‘Painting Circles on Straight Highways’ (Irenicon Press), in 2012. His works appear in Mississippi Mud, Foxfire, the Portland Oregonian and Pacific Northwest Magazine, Northwinds Anthology, and A Ritual to Read Together: Poems in Conversation with William Stafford, (Woodley Press). He received the Academy of American Poets Award in 1976. He continues to write poetry and lead workshops to feed his poetry passion.
http://www.petergquinn.com
Table of Contents, Issue #10, Winter 2020
Woodland Witness
by Zoe Wadkins Winter 2020 Drawings by Zoe Wadkinsby Zoe Wadkins, Winter 2020 Drawings by Zoe WadkinsIn the three years since our first introduction, I have walked this loop of Deer Creek more than one hundred times. Its rich macroinvertebrate habitat constitutes a...
Restoring Forests
by Dan Hintz, Winter 2020You can see this 2019 Mountains to Sound Greenway tree planting site at Lake Sammamish State Park, located along Issaquah Creek. Photo by Katie Egresi.You can see this 2019 Mountains to Sound Greenway tree planting site at Lake Sammamish State...
Salish Sea and Dinosaur Pee
by Sarah Lorse, Winter 2020 Photo by Sarah Lorseby Sarah Lorse, Winter 2020 Photo by Sarah LorseHow wonderfully wet things are here beside the Salish sea. Whether it is a big fat raindrop dangling off your nose or the impressive volume of a king tide, water is all...
See the Salish Sea by Saddle
by Jessica C. Levine, Winter 2020 Photos by Jessica C. Levineby Jessica C. Levine, Winter 2020 Photos by Jessica C. LevineI spend a considerable amount of time pondering cycles. As a cyclist, I bike year round. I’m also a naturalist and place-based science educator....
Many Cycles of Nature
by Leigh Calvez, Winter 2020 Photos by John F. Williams except as notedby Leigh Calvez, Winter 2020 Photos by John F. Williams except as notedAs children we come into a world filled with the cycles of nature. We watch with wonder as the first crocuses of spring poke...
Swallow Season
by Donna Bunten, Winter 2020 Photos by Donna Bunten except as notedPhoto by John F. WilliamsPhoto by John F. Williamsby Donna Bunten, Winter 2020 Photos by Donna Bunten except as notedI dread August—the end of summer, sliding farther down the slope towards darkness,...
Sacred Stream Insects
by Gavin Tiemeyer, Winter 2020 Photos courtesy of King County except where notedby Gavin Tiemeyer, Winter 2020 Photos courtesy of King County except where notedLearning about the natural cycles that govern the health of the Salish Sea starts with peering into your...
The Many Lives of Tree
by Pat Kirschbaum, Winter 2020Photo by John F. WilliamsPhoto by John F. Williamsby Pat Kirschbaum, Winter 2020We are so lucky in the Pacific Northwest to have many places to go where we can be surrounded by trees. As I sat alongside a nearby stream recently, I...
Community Gardens
by Alison Ahlgrim, Winter 2020Photo by Michael YatesPhoto by Michael Yatesby Alison Ahlgrim, Winter 2020My first visit to Everett was a reconnaissance mission to see if my husband and I might like to live there. Drawn to the water, we ended up at the waterfront...
COPYRIGHT
Copyright SEA-Media
All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution, in whole or in part. without consent of copyright owner is strictly prohibited — except for brief quotations in critical reviews and other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright laws.
SEA-Media is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT
SALISH MAGAZINE
DONATE
Salish Magazine contains no advertising and is free. Your donation is one big way you can help us inspire people with stories about things that they can see outdoors in our Salish Sea region.
We also don't advertise Salish Magazine, so please spread the word of this online resource to your friends and colleagues.
Thanks so much for your interest and your support.