by Ilene Millman
Snowy egret in flight
black-stockinged legs, yellow feet.
Avoid newscasts
pray they are safe.
Great blue heron
quiet filled with sit-and-wait.
Avoid newscasts
pray they are safe.
Patient green language
of floating lily pad.
Avoid newscasts
pray they are safe.
Cataract of sun blinds
then hides in a nest of clouds.
Avoid newscasts
pray they are safe.
Lumpy greenish grace
of manatee surfaces.
Avoid newscasts
pray they are safe.
Walt’s Fish House packed
search for dinner down the road.
Avoid newscasts
pray they are safe.
Author’s note: With airports now closed around the world, many of us find ourselves separated from loved ones and anxious about their safety amid the missiles drones and uncertainty. My husband and I are vacationing in sunny Florida while our children and grandchildren are in the Middle East and under threat. So many people and their families under threat in too many wars.
Ilene Millman writes about memory, music, motherhood, modern times and mud among other topics. Her first poetry book Adjust Speed to Weather, was published in 2018; her most recent book A Jar of Moths in 2024 (Ragged Sky Press). Her poems have been published in a wide variety of journals and anthologies including the Potomac Review, MacGuffin, Kelsey Review (nominated for Pushcart Prize in 2023 and 2025), Connecticut Review, TheNewVerseNews and others. A speech/language therapist, she has also published two language therapy games.
