January 2020
Joan Colby
JoanMC@aol.com
Author's Note:  Both of these poems deal with current issues. "Black Overcoats" was a reaction to the many photos of Trump and reminded me of Russian photos from cold war days with the Kremlin folks in ubiquitous coats. The final stanza links Trump's red tie to the seminal scene in Schindler's List—black and white except for the dead child's red coat.

"The Climate of Salvation" is a meditation on climate change with examples of the devastation caused by global warming. My poems seem to be centered on serious matters these days...

Black Overcoats

Bulky men in black overcoats
And Russian fur Ushankas, converse
Standing in the snow before the Kremlin.
A Politburo of inexpressive faces
Divining judgments: Siberia or the noose.
Black and white photographs of the 30’s
Struggle for dominance. The scourge of war.
Drooping mustaches or shaven grooves
In broad, swarthy cheeks. Black overcoats
Like a murder of crows.

The bulky man in a black overcoat
Strides in the heavy shoes of deceit. Call it lies.
Call it what it is. White circles around the eyes
Like a Spectacle Bear. In this scene, the only slash
Of color reminds of Schindler’s List—that dead child’s coat
Red as this tie, too long, knotted and swinging.

The Climate of Salvation

Who can deny a warming that
De-ices the poles, that nudges deciduous
Forests further north, that disrupts the
Migratory patterns.

Microflora morphs to devour
The Lascaux cave paintings,
To deface the beautiful frescoes
In the Italian cathedrals.

Love, even the mummies of Chinchorro
Are melting into black ooze.
Preserved for centuries in the arid
Atecoma Desert, they have decomposed
Into gunk that stains our hands.
©2020 Joan Colby
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