Wednesday, August 20, 2008

GEORGIA ON MY MIND

by Phyllis Wax


The flaming eyes of night
hard red tears
whistle in the dark

Untamed the bear lumbers
into a place he doesn’t belong

                    run, run
                         hide in the cellar

cracks his knuckles
swats to rubble what’s in his path

                    grab your children
                         hide

Enraged by the thorns
he upends roses
tears the petals from their faces

brushes aside twittering complaints

Belching smoke
he strews bricks
scatters bones

Far away the mighty eagle puffs himself up
flaps his wings, opens
his toothless mouth
thinks he can spit
and paste the petals back on


When she is not riding her bike along the shore of Lake Michigan, Phyllis Wax keeps up with the news in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. Most recently she has been published in Out of Line, Free Verse, Wisconsin Poets' Calendar and The New Verse News.
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