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