Donaldson Run 
by Holly Karapetkova

The day was not ours but we were in it, up to our knees in the water of a small creek that feeds a famous river, one that touched the feet of men and women who went down in history. Perhaps they walked this small creek, too, but it is not written. Likewise, our names are not in any book, but we write them on the rocks with water and leave before they evaporate. We take only things that have already fallen—dead leaves, the tuft of a dandelion blossom—and sail them downstream, watching until they snag on a stick or slip into the current. We are our own witnesses. No one sees this but us, not even the sun cooling its head behind a cloud.

Holly Karapetkova’s poetry, prose, and translations have appeared recently in Prairie Schooner, Southern Review, Blackbird, and many other places. She is the author of two books of poetry: Towline, winner of the Vern Rutsala Poetry Prize from Cloudbank Books, and Words We Might One Day Say, winner of the Washington Writers’ Publishing House Prize for Poetry. She lives in Arlington and teaches at Marymount University.

Written in Arlington / Spoken in Arlington is a print and digital collection of the poets and poems of Arlington, VA, edited by Katherine E. Young and published by Paycock Press (forthcoming, fall 2020). It is supported in part by Arlington County through the Arlington Cultural Affairs division of Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Commission for the Arts. For more information, visit Arlington Arts.

Image: After the Rain mixed media/collage on canvas by Anya Getter (fragment)