Tag: caution

poetry

missed beat

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missed beat

we have been so restrained
so quiet and solitary
conscientious and clean

that walking into the high school
with open faces feels like a dare
like living wild

and when the band begins bouncing to the beat
striking their drums and marimbas
with the pent-up energy we’ve all kept tamped down

and – even crazier – we all start emptying our lungs
with long loud indoor cheers
for everything –
the proficient kids
our survival
the back-tingling joy of having hope for a moment
the crash of noise we can finally sink our fear inside

we sense we’ve arrived
at a new kind of fearlessness

for all these reasons
we salute you, Warriors –
you’ve put a beat
back in our chests

poetry

the cautious committee

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the cautious committee

the committee commits to take no action that might possibly be construed as offensive
the committee thus takes no action
except to endlessly examine whether a potential action has the potential to offend
the committee does not trust anyone’s judgment as to what might be offensive
(including its own)
so it will strip all warm, individual messages
of their warmth and individuality
before sending the sanitized versions
out into the world
where they will register with the cold neutral resonance
of a clean computer-generated auto-response

the committee respectfully requests that it be forgiven
for not engaging in the potentially perilous act
of accepting the crushing responsibility
of humbly requesting forgiveness

poetry

House Rock Valley Sunset

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House Rock Valley Sunset

the last rays of sun fire the sky
and one son announces
he has a headache
and a runny nose

I help casually
without saying what I’m thinking:
is this our last pre-Covid-life sunset
and, if so,
will it take someone we love down

or

is this our last pre-Covid-life sunset
and, if so,
will it wash over us in an easy wave –
a bit of headache here
a scratchy throat there

will it leave us shaking our heads
at our years of precautions
friendships lost for nothing
so much restraint for so little cause

or at our reckless last week
unmasked with the masses
at the Grand Canyon
ears filled with other languages
noses filled with who knows what

but maybe
it’s just our last Arizona sunset til next year
unremarkable except for its normalcy
unworthy of this account

poetry

unseen danger

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unseen danger

after looking dubiously at the sepia water
of the nearly still creek
I went back and asked
is it safe for swimming?

oh, yeah
the owner nodded
I’ve been swimming in it all my life
the crocs are just in saltwater
20ks away

approaching a second time
I got in enough to launch a canoe
all the better to appreciate
how the water was thick like molasses
(perfectly natural, filled with nutrients)
but it wasn’t the water that put me off
it was the impenetrable darkness of it
not knowing what was beneath
the inscrutable surface

hours later
when we came across the six-foot-long python
unhurriedly examining the chicken coop
a short ways from our tent
I did not regret having saved my dip
for the pure cold clear swimming pool,
unmistakably empty before I entered