Connie Schultz
before the wildfires

the heat
is dry not humid
like seattle

boats putter in
the wakeless

she swings
the sky
is coulee blue &

boats purr like
lawnmowers

families go out
for a day at
the lake bring

the dog & the
only noise here
comes from
cars passing

behind sounds like
water running

like helicopter
gliding over a
coulee wall to
wildfires past

smells like dust
& dirty water

tastes like tongue
stuck on the roof
of the mouth

feels like sweat
crawling

 

grand coulee in wildfire smoke

no walls no walls
we are all in clouds

no deer today
no turkeys

quail dispersed

& townspeople talk

& lakes can't be seen
hide under clouds of thick grey

 

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #10: Winter 2020, Volume 5 Number 2