tomatoes and aubergines
for Laura and the flood of ‘17
 
no sense fretting about the barn door
the horses will have seen the sinkhole
that made them back nervously away
seeking safety in their stalls
 
the tractor would have moved if it had known
that the creek was rising, rising
looking for new places to run
finding the shed, and in a rill
of laughter, burying the backhoe bucket
in mud it would later scoop away
 
roads, such as are left, are underwater
or so broken up they will demand
high clearance, all wheels digging in
for any vehicle desperate enough
to challenge them
 
fences, so used to keeping trouble out
and animals in, have quite unwillingly
become hanging spots for
                the neighbor's porch, now bits of ragged lumber
                the neighbor's couch, no cushions left in sight
                the neighbor's mailbox, as if it knew
                                they would need a forwarding address
                                by the time the river relented
                a riderless rocking horse,
                                bounced by the endless flow
                                bobbing, bobbing, silently
 
but in the higher ground, where plans and plants were started
before this diluvian assault, this impersonation of the great flood
tomatoes and aubergines stand at attention
loyal verdant soldiers, holding fast their ground
determined they will yield to no wind, no rain, no unruly stream
similes, as all my seedlings are, for my own tenacious faith
 



 
my wall clocks keep dying
 

energizer, duracell, rayovac, ultralife
have each done their tour of duty
each providing a surge that would make
afganistan and iraq tremble
the minute-man sword leaping into action
sweeping the horizon in measured steps
guarding the hours through their daily battle
 
sabotage is suspected
along with shoddy work
the delicate lines and circuits
that keep the attack on time
coordinated, calculated
yes, those fragile lines keep failing
intermittently at first
silent, sleepy soldiers
dozing at their posts
until they've all gone quiet
no response to the general order
to march into the new day