the sirens sounding

for the Clarksville tornado

how quickly the cloud changed

into a white funnel

of terror

Aerial View Of Mount Vesuvius, Courtesy of the St. Louis Science Center. Pompeii Exhibition

"We are not good at recognizing distant threats even if their probability is 100%..." 

     ~James R. Schlesinger

fleeing Mount Vesuvius

in a boat of uncertainty

the survivors

never claim the ashes 

of those they left behind

Courtesy of the St. Louis Science Center, "Pompeii: The Exhibition"

Erie, PA, 2024

after the eclipse we drove

to the bicentennial tower,

its two-hundred steps

more than any of us

could climb in one breath

A Nickel for Your Thoughts

 

50 days

to unravel the economy

let’s get rid of pennies

as if that were the issue

keeping us up at night

remembering 

the January 6th insurrection

I will not pardon

the snow's return

nor shake its icy hand

Welcome to

the 52nd state

of US healthcare

I hope you've been dealt

a rich set of cards

 

broken promises

if Santa had you on his list

you'd have enough coal by now

to heat the entire world

until the end of time

built in 1883

the narrows covered bridge

its lifespan stronger

than any words I have

to describe it

November regrets

at a roadside diner

I never found out

who bought my meal

nor had a chance to thank them.

La Roche de la Croix

what a view the pirates had

from the limestone ledges 

of Tower Rock

the Mississippi so low

I can retrace their footsteps

"Were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood"

Job 22:16

Crossing the Dunes

flood waters rushing 

through the Sahara

as though it were a biblical tale

the palm trees standing

in their own reflections

"Do No Harm"

whir

of the fan blades

the top speed not enough

to keep us cool 

during the debate

                     pages of writing

              I wish I could read what's on

                       a butterfly's wing

              the buckeye saw me looking

                and moved a thistle away

red circles under my eyes

the injury

of a mosquito bite

takes longer to heal

than the first assault

summer began with

the long drive to get there

grandma's front porch

from rice and old bottle caps

we made our own tambourines

approaching train

a boy with his hands

over his ears 

as if the noise were gunshots

on the Fourth of July

an old woman seated

on a low railing 

she faces the windows

with rooms as dark

as her black sweater

harvest time

a bale of hay tied

to the horse's back

by a boy who looks younger

than the horse

the future shaped by

the boy's pointed elbows,

the curve of the haystack,

and the bend 

in his grandmother's back

the steady gaze

of gravediggers

two with clenched hands

as though they were still

holding their shovels

Tribute to Vivian Maier

I am currently reading the biography of "the mystery woman," Vivian Maier. There were certain aspects of her childhood that I could relate to. 

It's been a while since I've written a tribute. Some of the tanka will be posted here and others on a separate tribute page.

in her woolen swing coat

with oversized buttons

from the 50s

the self-portrait of a woman 

who's ready for winter

under the olive trees

in Israel

you said you were tired

and asked me 

to wander on without you