Poetry Contest 2nd Place Winner
Sailing to Manti
(to my husband, on the 22nd anniversary of our
December marriage in the Manti temple)
We sail the vein:
Perforated, gray southbound highway
Down
From dawn’s perch
We approach,
Splaying this languid stage of sagebrush
In two
Vast contours, undulating,
Old rocky chronology seeping left to right,
Largo to fermata . . .
Bending beyond peripheral vision
Curling,
wrapping,
enfolding
Heaven,
Her mist-mottled crepe curtain
Whispers,
Torn,
As ragged hem reveals enough:
Mountains, their triple depth in
Slate then ash then dust
Hang an ageless opaque canvas.
Drawn, we aim.
Trusting, we offer
Hands stretched through a veil.
We sail.
Life has followed a colorful trajectory for Melissa who, with her husband and four children, has lived in Vienna, Hong Kong, an island in Norway, and now in the heart of Paris. This journey (wifehood, motherhood, nomadhood) has provided experiences that she has consistently tried to translate into the written word. Like half of Paris, she has written a book. Like the other half of Paris, she walks her dog. Unlike anyone else in Paris, she actually scoops the poop.
