How much clearer does it need to be?
Almost every day now, flood warnings.
Sidewalks stipple with crepe myrtle
blooms after each hard rain; then
the trunks of trees start exfoliating.
In the Himalayas, a glacier lake bursts,
emptying into the valleys below. Unlike
some animals around whose necks we've
managed to string bells, catastrophe rarely
announces its arrival. When you startle from
sleep, your brain is a balloon that gradually
leaks helium before drifting to the floor.
All the people walking among the topiary
in period costumes have disappeared.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
