by Madlynn Haber
The story of atrocities screams out from the front page
until the end of the column of words. The story continues
on page five. In between, is the weather report. I stop
to follow the progress of early spring’s longer days,
full sunshine, warming temperatures. Delightful. Turning
pages, today’s atrocities pick up with images of rubble,
devastation, tears running down children’s pale faces.
A cartoon follows for our amusement, then notices
of upcoming fun, fairs, and festivals.
The word atrocity repeats until it is familiar, so
commonplace it almost loses its meaning.
It’s just another atrocity, one might say.
Red is the color of blood as it spills across
the globe from bodies whose skin tones reflect
a spectrum of hues from light to dark.
Today’s crumpled headlines continue screaming
with news as the paper is thrown on a pile going back
to the beginning of time.
Madlynn Haber lives with her dog, Ozzie, in a cohousing community in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her work has been published in the anthology Adult Children (Wishing Up Press, 2021), Random Sample, Borrowed Solace, Buddhist Poetry Review, Muddy River Poetry Review, Poetica Magazine, and other journals.
