by Mickey J. Corrigan
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| Spring Break ramps up on Fort Lauderdale beach and bars nearby. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel) |
They amass like mosquitoes
seasonal, thirsty
buzzing full throated
drinking from the trough
dancing bikini bar to bar
singing across hot sand
under bright sun freedom
in the Ponzi State
Where cities are whitewashed
spiritually unclaimed, soulless
coyotes nosing full garbage cans
their woods stripped bare for
asphalt streets, pink plastic
body parts and towers
on Styrofoam foundations
eroding narrowed beaches
while out in the rurals
abandoned washers, rusty
cars, no jobs, lots of guns
red banners to the past
This is the place
to party-hardy
for frontier values
fierce individualism
reduced taxes, no rules
endless cycles of consumption
just build, build and burn
When the invaders conquered
the Natives warned them
of the inevitable loss:
the nose of the deer
will fall off...
and that's Florida
the Underwater State
Where everyone is welcome
to the final season
the grand finale
the greatest sunset
in American history.
Originally from Boston, Mickey J. Corrigan writes tropical noir with a dark humor. Novels include Project XX about a school shooting (Salt Publishing, UK, 2017) and What I Did for Love, a spoof of Lolita (Bloodhound Books, UK, 2019). In 2020, Grandma Moses Press released the poetry micro-chapbook Florida Man. The Physics of Grief puts the fun back in funerals while taking a serious look at the process of mourning (QuoScript, UK, April 2021).