One Poem by Mark Hendrickson

 

I THOUGHT, I SAW

 

I thought them spiders, tiny and black,

ballooning on gossamer strands through the air;

just seasonal, natural, harmless things,

a fear it is fun to share with friends.

 

I thought them crows, swooping down from the skies

in formation, following one by one;

or manna from heaven, sent by the Father

a blessing from Christ to share with friends.

 

I thought it a troop, a troop of mushrooms,

too ordered and regular to be called gregarious:

rows and rows of fertile fungus,

the type you harvest and share with friends.

 

I thought it a trail, or perhaps a road,

pedestrians walking in the rain,

umbrellas raised to ward off the water:

a crowd of strangers, a group of friends.

 

I thought it a river, flowing down from the mountains:

wave upon wave, a deluge a flood;

higher and higher the waters rising,

we ran for the hills with our neighbors and friends.

 

I saw an invasion, battalions of soldiers

parachute down and spread out on the road;

rank upon rank of them, blood at the front,

we fled and we died with our families and friends.

 

I saw a dark painting: black, green, and yellow.

I saw a dark headline, the prelude to war.

I wrote a dark poem that tells a dark story

for people to share with their family and friends.

Mark Hendrickson is a poet and writer in the Des Moines area.  A 2023 Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee, his work has appeared or is forthcoming in Prose Online, Five Minutes, Synkroniciti, Swing, Lothlorien, and others. Mark worked for many years as a mental health technician in a locked psychiatric unit. His background includes music, healthcare, and psychology. Visit his website at: www.markhendricksonpoetry.com,