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| Our Guam bunker still stands after weathering many typhoons. |
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
This poem is a sample from a new chapbook project in the works.
16 comments:
Great images of nature's power and the connection to the typhoon process in our lives.
Thank you. Life can be stormy, but there's always the sun to look forward to.
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!!!
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.
I love this piece, very vivid and edgy too. Christina
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".
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
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.
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.
I can't wait to read the new chapbook. This sample whets my appetite. Patsy
Fitting for the anniversary of Katrina. Water, groaning, the wringing of hands....I am there with you.
I look forward to more....
Thanks, Laura, for the reminder of Katrina. I didn't have that in mind when I posted, but it's a nice bonus!
Thanks Patsy. There will be more, only 15 more poems to go! I'm shooting for this time next year.
Jacque: I'm so glad this poem fell on the anniversary of Katrina. Maybe on a subconscious level I knew.
Experiences like this teach us that if you live through a storm like this you can weather other storms too.
So true, Dave, and I can't think of anyone better to weather those storms with.
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