Cyclonic Storm Migration

Near the Azores    that’s where they arise

tropical depressions        that wander westward

fed by warm water           weakened by windshear.

 

Over the Caribbean         hook right, head north

now a named storm        sprawling spiral

single-eyed cyclone        hell-hurricane.

 

Then northeast, following         Carolina’s coast

Mid-lantic states   Maritime provinces

eastbound now      and called extra-tropical.

 

All the way back   across the Atlantic

post-tropical cyclones     can still pack a punch

killer storm-strike           on old England’s coast.

 

I still haven’t seen          the circuit completed

remnants re-finding        the westbound flow

regaining strength           south-west of Gibraltar.

 

First time for everything—

          second time around?

 

Books Available
Dervish Lions
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside

Something to Tell My Son Chia-Theng

 From my great-grandfather, Shen Jun-Ye, to my grandfather, Shen Chia-Theng. 1938.

 

Since you went to Hengyang,

The enemy has penetrated deeper into the Southeast!

Is there still a land of peace?

Tonight I recall the hometown voices!

Our country is still in great danger;

Though separated, we share one heart and mind.

Devote all timely efforts to your work,

Don't be weakened by the thoughts of home.

 

Books Available
Dervish Lions
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside

Air quality: moderate and grey

Last night, a trace of rain, a breath of petrichor. This morning, damp grass underfoot. Air quality still only Moderate.

It's less that the sky is grey, and more that the air is grey, and dense with both humidity and smoke, and cuts off any sense of depth or distance.

The lavender is spent; the mint, almost. No dandelions have bloomed since I last weed-ate the yard. No bees in my backyard now. I've heard hummingbirds this morning but have yet to see one zip by the window.

It's less that fall has come, and more that summer is tired and wants to move on. Or is that just me? 

 

Books Available
Dervish Lions
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside

Air Quality Is...

 

Unhealthy for

Sensitive Groups

 

like

 

anyone who’s had COVID

(everyone’s had COVID)

 

sky, sulfur-white

sun, owl-eye orange

 

burning breath, ashy lips

smell (whisper) smell of smoke

smell of burning

burning

world

 

Books Available
Dervish Lions
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside

The Best of the Lemon

 

Once you have used up the zest of the lemon

what do you do with the rest of the lemon?

 

The stock market’s falling, you lost all your gelt

so the best you can do is invest in lemons.

 

If that doesn’t work out, bellow against your fate!

Cry like the cockatoo with the crest of lemon.

 

Go dancing in canary-yellow with a bright grren tie

and tell everyone you’re dressed as a lemon.

 

Climb down from a tree clutching an egg,

a gold ovoid stolen from a nest of lemons.

 

A pale moon rises in a smoky sky

one coin escaped from a treasure-chest of lemons.

 

When God gives you lemons, you can make lemonade

or else write an ode that’s addressed to a lemon.

 

Books Available
Dervish Lions
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside