}
June 11, 2026

American Life Moon

New Moon   June 15, 2026

In spring mountains, alone, I set out to find you.

           —Tu Fu (translation by David Hinton)

Kelp encircles

East, South & West

Forests garland

North to permafrost & ice

In the beginningless now

A soft hummock of baby rabbits nurse

Under the wind music of river birch

She receives a bowl of red glaze

Full of goodwill from an artist in debt

Giver, receiver & gift snared

In the tangle of human filament

Outside, our star yearns last year’s cilantro gardens to seed

Forming a bowing constellation of umbels, crowns of tiny flowers

That sift microns of pollen earthward as a chef might decorate dessert

Slant light of morning, white hair of primordial time

Shows up rainbow webs turntabling in subtle currents

& a host of near-invisible pollinators, essential workers

Floating fore & aft of poly-hued strawflower comets

Are we a place, a collective, a process

An accident, albatross or witness-participant

How do we show up for all our relations

Within this vainglorious moment?

POEM BY
Qayyum Johnson
ARTWORK BY SUIKO MCCALL

Constellation of Umbels, 2026.
Posca markers on paper, 9x11"

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