Sunday, August 26, 2012

A Party in Agat



Our Guam bunker still stands after
weathering many typhoons.
1976
Supertyphoon Pamela
tequilla shots and San Miguel Beer
 
Our beachside home
is common
concrete
bunker-like
built to withstand storms
 
I am not
 
We slug drinks
in shuttered rooms
gawk through
our unguarded door
gray with a mad wind
 
Pamela is merciless
the ocean is coming for us
rain pummeling
 
I am afraid
reduced to a mop
wringing my hands
 
The bathroom toilet
a whirlpool
flushing itself
 
Pamela groans
electricity pops
gathering round the radio
rallies us in the dark
 
Oh lovely tropic ranch
mango papaya banana
plumeria and bougainvillea
my typhoon paradise
 
This is no party
Guam is a mess
 
This poem is a sample from a new chapbook project in the works.  

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great images of nature's power and the connection to the typhoon process in our lives.

barb bits said...

Thank you. Life can be stormy, but there's always the sun to look forward to.

Donna said...

Water water everywhere and you, a simple mop. this is fabulous. The pacing is spot on. I feel the tension and the yearning for before the storm. More, more!!!

barb bits said...

Thanks, Donna. We did lots of mopping that day. It was and still is a lovely spot on Guam, but hard to keep up with storm after storm.

Ms. Wack Sense (known also as Christina Julian) said...

I love this piece, very vivid and edgy too. Christina

barb bits said...

Thanks, Chritina. And thank you for your input about the poem in workshop. Your words mean a lot as I consider you "Your Higness of Edginess".

Arletta Dawdy said...

Hi Barb,
I felt I was with you those many years ago, It is a powerful piece of writing..no pun intended here. You capture the fear, the beauty and the heartbreak.
Arletta

barb bits said...

Thanks, Arletta! It was a heartbreak to see the ranch as we called it a mess. But hearbreak makes for good poetry, and the people of Guam are resillient, and used to their storms.

Laura McHale Holland said...

What a perfect poem to post on the anniversary of Katrina. Your details are so compelling. I'd totally freak out if our bahroom toilet became a whirlpool flushing itself. And knowing that and much more happened down in New Orleans, and that many people are still suffering, well, the poem just really hit home. Great job. I look forward to your book.

patsyann@sonic.net said...

I can't wait to read the new chapbook. This sample whets my appetite. Patsy

Jacquie said...

Fitting for the anniversary of Katrina. Water, groaning, the wringing of hands....I am there with you.

I look forward to more....

barb bits said...

Thanks, Laura, for the reminder of Katrina. I didn't have that in mind when I posted, but it's a nice bonus!

barb bits said...

Thanks Patsy. There will be more, only 15 more poems to go! I'm shooting for this time next year.

barb bits said...

Jacque: I'm so glad this poem fell on the anniversary of Katrina. Maybe on a subconscious level I knew.

able@able-computers.com said...

Experiences like this teach us that if you live through a storm like this you can weather other storms too.

barb bits said...

So true, Dave, and I can't think of anyone better to weather those storms with.