A Tanka to Remember our Ancient City

For a period of seven years, I sang opera arias
floating on water wearing a giant dress made of umbrellas

I wasn’t aware of it at the time

We were not aware of what we were
doing when we waltzed upon
Rte. 355 at 4 in the morning.
Stepping lightly:

One,

two,

three.

One,

two,

three.

We couldn’t explain it to the man who swerved
to a halt and emerged
cursing at us from his beige VW Rabbit

Now I can explain it: we saw pavement as a way to tell time.

I’m trying to be more conscious
of what’s happening while it’s happening.
What are the facts? What are the questions?
What are the options?
And what does it mean?

Let me pause. Let me savor last Friday:

The Siamese cat
likes food wet. Sleater-Kinney
released a box set?
We could drive, but let’s waltz to
town. Every step cuneiform.

*The first two lines of this poem quote Dutch composer Laura Stavinoha.

Josh Feit’s poetry has been published in Spillway, Vallum, Change Seven, the Halcyone Literary Review, and High Shelf among other journals. He was a finalist for the 2021 Wolfson Chapbook Poetry Prize and the 2019 Lily Poetry Prize. He was shortlisted for the 2020 Vallum Award for Poetry and won Honorable Mention. His first chapbook, “The Night of Electric Bikes,” is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. He is the speechwriter for Seattle’s regional transit agency.