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Sometimes, the end comes at different times in different places.

Last Flight out of Tampa

"NOAA predicts: above normal 2032 Atlantic hurricane season"
It's springtime - best not to think of it now
I was down to visit three months ago.
We went to Oldsmar to eat sushi and drink
Watch the Lightning play on a big screen at the beach
It's so beautiful here.

"Last flight out of Tampa: 11 AM on Wednesday"
If you haven't left yet - good luck
I left seven years ago.
On my couch in Ohio, I track the models every day
Spaghetti lines snake up the coast
Spearing my city in the heart.

"Pinellas County Mandatory Evacuation Order: Zones A, B, C, D"
If you stay - nobody will be coming
I called my family two hours ago.
On their couch in St. Petersburg, they see the warning and take no heed
Canned food lined up like soldiers on the shelves
We have plenty, why leave.

"26 feet of water"
If you remember 1921 - twice over
I know nobody alive one hundred and eleven years ago.
Human memory only goes back so far
When you walk the streets and ask the women with carts full of water
It's never happened here before.

"Write your name and Social Security number on your arm in Sharpie"
The angels have left - this is their final blessing
I turned off my computer five minutes ago.
I don't want to watch the water creep up into my old house
I don't want to watch the wind blow the bridge out of the sky
I don't want to watch the world end.

"50 dead, thousands missing, two million homeless"
We sowed these seeds - this is our harvest
I got in the car half a day ago.

A Very Short Poem About the Newfoundland Outports

Is Newfoundland still in God’s kingdom?
Does the last, lonely codfish descend from the ponds and streams that dotted the Garden of Eden
Does the Marine Trader ferry souls destined for salvation across the sea between snow-capped fjords
Did the prayers of the fishermen for salvation fall on listening ears as the waters emptied out, year after year
Or do the boats hauling houses come bearing one final revelation
Anywhere is better, just not here

Buncombe County

I rode out Hurricane Helene with my grandparents down in Florida. Our parents were out of town cruising down the West Coast, so they didn’t want us holding down the fort alone. I get that. Hurricanes are scary sons of bitches.

So I drove around my town and saw the signs declaring who has to evac from where, running to ALDI the day before anyone else got there. I got my water and canned foods and called my parents and talked about the availability of frozen strawberry-rhubarb pies. Rhubarb doesn’t grow in Florida, if you can believe that. It needs a hard freeze to thrive. You could say some shit about survival through adversity if you wanted. I don’t.

I grabbed my little brother from his job slinging pizza dough. He didn’t want to take the day off. Had 8k in his savings account after only a year of employment or so, but clearly not turning up to work in a Category 4 hurricane was going to break him. Whatever. I got him eventually.

We all hunkered down in our grandparents’ single-story house on the highest point in town. Played a lot of Hearts and Gin Rummy by flashlight once the power got cut. Ate cold meatloaf on bread with chips and salad and ketchup to clear out the fridge a little bit. I laid in bed shaking that night, not because there was really anything wrong, but because I’m addicted to the fucking Internet and didn’t want it to go out and loud noises scare me.

The next day the AC was out. That sucked, I’m not gonna lie. It also sucked to have to clear over $500 worth of food out of every fridge anyone I was related to owned. I spent that day gathering sticks from the front yard, getting drive-through burgers at a place that was miraculously open, and… I remember this real clearly, convincing our grandpa that he wasn’t going to be able to get the lawn guys to come the next day, or the electric company to switch our power back on in the storm. He just didn’t get why things stopped for a day.

Stopped for a day. A day or two. Just one weekend and things are back to normal. Nobody talked about Hurricane Helene.

And in Buncombe County

The

Waters

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