“Bosque Song” by Sonya Wohletz

Photo by Miguel Pinto

inspired by the photo linked here

Bosque Song

Last time I saw you East of the Río Grande
Your heart was crowned in scarlet feathers,
And I carried a handful of lake and purpose
In this grey horizon basket. You were waiting
for me in the shallow end of evening.
I brought you gifts of corn and wheat,
Cottonseed and sorghum flowers blossoming
as we pulled apart the heat of time together
in that sweet season, caught in between
The boundary waters of our birth. Memories
rise to the surface in thermal pockets of longing—
the voices of our children learning to take flight.
How they lift us up to knowing
in silver-throated hope as we head South again.
Here, in the late Pliocene hour of the urge
To remain holy on this earth, we allow ourselves
To return our bodies to the dance, one
Slim leg along another, these falling feather calls.
A sentimental song, and then another. I
Leap again into desire, here at the moment
you look away, your silence a shell
cradling all the grace of this good water.


by Sonya Wohletz
Sonya came to this world as a bat emerging from a cave in New Mexico territory. Since becoming human (as a result of circumstances beyond her control), she enjoys the use of opposable thumbs for writing, painting, and cooking.


This piece was sparked by the November 2020 Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge which was to write a piece inspired by this photo by Kim Sosin titled “Leaping Crane”! And because we’re all about celebrating community and the amazingly varied ways that folks can respond to the same prompt, here’s a link to the pieces that were selected by Rattle Artist’s Choice:Crane Possibly Walking on Water” by Erin Newton Wells. Editor’s Choice:Birdwoman” by L.T. Pelle

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