Poetry by Kersten Christianson
Under the Falling
Yellow Cedar moon
we solstice. Beef roast
in the slow cooker,
ham bakes in the oven.
Stars and moon align,
twinkle in cavernous
bookshelves, where
the printed word basks
in the spoken. My dad
and brother taste test
each other’s pickled fish,
banter over the better.
Gloria’s cake sports
jingle bells, boughs
from last weekend’s
tree falling in a windstorm.
We have come together
before and will again
to celebrate the U-turn
in darkness; name those
no longer with us
in this life, but within
memory’s reach.
Kersten Christianson is a poet and English teacher from Sitka, Alaska. She is the author of Curating the House of Nostalgia (Sheila-Na-Gig, 2020) and Something Yet to Be Named (Kelsay Books, 2017). She serves as poetry editor of Alaska Women Speak. Kersten savors road trips, bookstores, and smooth ink pens.
