A dragonfly’s wings shimmer—iridescent in the twilight bathing my yard in an Agent Orange hue. I don’t know why, but I assume this dragonfly is male. He hovers above me, awaiting his mate perched on one of the dandelions dotting my yard. She’ll find him in a few minutes, but I linger longer. Perhaps his hovering reminds me of my ex.
parting gift
a scorch mark
on his satin shirt
the burn
love leaves
when it’s gone
They both show up at my door at the same time. I let them in, offer coffee (although something stronger might be in order—at least for me). M’s nose is dusted with freckles. She floats around the room flaunting her tan. D, wearing sweatpants and a faded Smiths T-shirt, lies on the sofa clutching a throw pillow. They don’t typically share the same space. M’s exuberance can be exhausting, and D’s melancholy can make for difficult company. But I can’t picture my life without them both in it. I ask M if D and I might tag along the next time she goes to the beach. Muse just laughs at the suggestion, and Depression throws the pillow at her freckled face.
dusk shore
the tan
wings
of a moth
fluttering
in circles
Cheribun is a relatively new hybrid form combining prose with cherita; thus far, few have explored collaborative varieties. When Terri and I first discussed collaborative cheribun, we weren’t sure of the best way to construct the collaboration. On our first attempt, “Don’t Bug Me,” a prose-cherita split seemed sufficient for the piece. However, Terri suggested a more interlinked version where one person writes the first paragraph, followed by a cherita and second paragraph by the second person, followed by a final cherita written by the first person; thus, the collaborative form is sandwiched by authorship. “Zigzag” was our first attempt at this interlinked collaborative cheribun, but we suspect many collaborative variations of cheribun could exist. Braided and French-braided varieties of cheribun provide ideal targets for future collaboration (as well as braided varieties of haibun!).
Bio: Colleen M. Farrelly
Bio: Terri L. French
