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| Sun., Aug. 29: Hurricane Ida is seen in this image taken aboard the International Space Station. The image was shared on European Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 65 crew member Thomas Pesquet's Twitter account, as the storm churned in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of its landfall. ESA/NASA |
Mother, they say you are the hurricane
bearing down on our Gulf Coast this weekend
whirling mad anomaly full of rain and wind
scream a long assault against any who list
attendant fury tearing down light post tree wall
drowning masses who fail to heed your warning
I became a cistern full of tears wretched
war torn homeless arms outstretched
when I heard them call you Ida
as though so quiet in your living
you found in death freedom to be whirlwind
demand your choices known
Rose M. Smith lives in Central Ohio near a short stretch of woods. Her work has appeared in Blood and Thunder, Origins Journal, Passager, The Examined Life, Snapdragon, and other journals and anthologies. She is author of Unearthing Ida (Glass Lyre Press, 2019) which won the 2018 Lyrebird Prize. She is an Editor with Pudding Magazine, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and a Cave Canem fellow.
