by Jerome Berglund
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| Dogs roam the ghost town of Pripyat within the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine. Scientists have identified genetically distinct populations living in the area, including within the highly contaminated power plant. Credit: Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse—Getty Images via The New York Times, March 3, 2023 The Dogs of Chernobyl Are Experiencing Rapid Evolution, Study Suggests –Popular Mechanics, April 1, 2023 |
near fifty odd past,
generations of curs
in the fallout
plume rose up
into the air
but has it dissipated
toys left behind
during hasty retreat
from exclusion zone
through ruins
of the power plant
feral strays mutating
irradiated populations
not eradicated
over the dog years
unmolested
other kingdoms
time to flourish
the casualties
by necessity
continue evolving
beneficial adaptations
can they be reabsorbed
into populations
tempering
for weathering
this boiling world
roaming the wastes
admiring
the many sunflowers
Jerome Berglund, recently nominated for the Touchstone awards and Pushcart Prize, has many haiku, senryu, and tanka exhibited and forthcoming online and in print, including in the Asahi Shimbun, Bottle Rockets, Frogpond, and Modern Haiku. His first full-length collection of poetry Bathtub Poems was just released by Setu Press.