Manhattan Walkabout Cadralor
1) Ceiling fans circulate dust in a four-star cafés
scatter housefly exoskeletons resting in corners
refracting iridescent colour like dragonfly wings;
spring pollen sailors
blame mesothelioma
short breaths, itchy pores
2) Children toss peanut butter lids as if frisbees
at the beach, skipping waves, blitzing sandcastles
vibrating, rattling like cicada sound box castanets;
green ghostbuster slime
grease rollercoaster wheel tracks
guide sturm and drang thrills
3) Chalk garden portraits drawn on cement by blind artists
tactile strokes create rainbow graphics from gypsum sticks
pedestrians accent walkway vistas with leather soles;
flowerpots yield to
helix hummingbird feeders
bright feathers zip by
4) Collapsed land sink hole sucked muddy fissures, spread like fingers
on a keyboard as cracks grew wider, molten lava rose, fire alarms
wailed & police sirens filled the night air like crying Banshees;
quad camera air drones
navigate through evergreens
piece low hanging clouds
5) Commitment severed, wedding bands sat in velvet boxes behind
the pawn shop’s display case—below gaudy class rings, pocket watches,
& fine jewellery…fond marital memories faded & gemstone lustre gone;
new year miasma
fog a melancholic cloak
auld lang syne pledges
First Hill Neighbourhood: Seattle
Privately funded research labs
branched off Alder Street’s throughfare
like titanic ribcage bones protecting
the toxic exaltations of Seattle’s
lungs rising, falling, gasping beneath
the naked legs of homeless trekkers
hovering above antiseptic craniums
that stared down alley ways searching
for grails to nourish emaciated spirits,
renew phantom lives, gift wandering barks
mariner astrolabes that measured
the sun’s noon altitude, estimate
longitude and latitude as they calculated
distances between hope, despondency,
despair and rendered GPS devises obsolete
in a world where technology and progress
strove to persist beyond a footnote
as change made former industrial miracles
passé, turned its back on yesteryear’s wünderkinder,
christened human memories enduring benchmarks
that AI preachers tried to absorb and emulate.
Resilience
Annas Bay Salmon
seek the Skokomish River
run and spawn upstream
In heated times when red-wing blackbirds
and chirping sparrows grow hoarse then quiet
low-flying aircraft from
Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton
fills the silent void with booming, rumbling jet turbines
buzzing then uttering high-pitched roars justifying
their endless noise pollution all in the name
of strategic training and essential research;
as they skirt granite-blue skies above Puget Sound
lording over the Hood Canal, sometimes taking mock
reconnaissance photos, other times parachuting
into water where boats awaited pin-point skydivers
thoroughly puzzled why any sane person would
desire to jump from perfectly good airplanes,
certain comrades engaged in surface vessel
and submarine training exercises—even at
nuclear shipyards—would offer sailors people
friendly, climate controlled luxury compared
to perpetual Naval Aviation Enterprise hardships
even though mute birds
might disagree, they’ll
eventually burst into song like boreal chickadees
demonstrating resilience, overpowering complaints.
barking sea lions
defend their territories
warn seals and strangers
Au Naturel
Twins firmly embraced at twilights bidding, pushed apart
sunburnt bodies blending like two
scarlet chameleons
longing for
aloe
to
soothe
scorched
pores
relieve
angry skin
moisturize ourselves
reclaim healthy, supple, physiques
albeit enriched with nature’s dose of vitamin D.
Too hip for Coppertone, they challenged common sense while
ultraviolet rays drilled pale hides,
sapped natural oils;
roasted like
briskets
on
a
long
thin
skewer…
heat blisters
radiating from
head to toe; they both slept solo,
watching The Snow Queen, visually chilling fiery shrouds.
Good Night & Good Luck
—Apologies to Edward R. Murrow
…Good Night & Good Luck.
News anchors mystified by “cool brat” meaning
utter misleading titles & sound bites they can’t control:
Australian Surfer’s Leg Washes to Shore;
Disciplined Army Reserve Officers Admonished;
Wolf of Airbnb Defrauds NYC Landlords.
…Good Night & Good Luck.
Relinquishing the role of trustworthy reporting
to shock jocks, podcasters, DJs & tweeters,
information floats across fancy monitors
dominates social media platforms,
drops freely from misinformed lips during
water cooler conversations where people discuss
sensationalized headlines repeat false, distort facts
& elevate falsehoods couched in phrases
dominated by dangling, misplaced modifiers:
Student Excited Dad Got Head Job;
Soda Cans Exploding like Delta Airlines “Little Bombs”;
Man Stands on Motorcycle Seat Driving 104 MPH;
Starving, Olympic Food Bar Devoured;
Olympic Athlete Eats at Food Bar With a Tattoo;
Child Swallowed by Python in Red Pajamas;
Police Warn Man with No Arms & No Legs is Armed & On the Run.
…Good Night & Good Luck.
Editors & webmasters relegate updates on war torn countries,
indigent families & suffering citizens to back pages
in the New York Times or between 60 Minutes commercial breaks,
filling empty space, perpetuating toxic memes, animating
the uncomfortable hush caused by slack wagging tongues.
…Good Night & Good Luck.
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