Furies of wind tossed
winter debris hither and yon
threatened to make kites
of dust covers
in yards and balconies
danced with branches
freed into airborne rain
new leaves opened
into the wet wildness
squirrels, cats and birds
abandoned sidewalks and trees
electric technologies snatched
into silent darkness
neighbours together-ed
for reassurance and laughter.
“Wind tries to show Tree how to run wild.
Tree: “I cannot leave this place.”
Wind: “Then let’s dance.”
~ Terri Guillemets, writer
Over the wires
Balcony cleared
~~~
Clouds gather
Yellow sky
Air smells of rain
~~~
Energy tightens
My body thrills
“Then the storm broke, and the dragons danced.”
~ George R.R. Martin, “Fire & Blood”
I didn’t notice the exact date or year that fire hydrants turned
yellow from red.
Nothing that drew my attention when
kids needed to get to baseball,
or the groceries needed putting away,
or bills were stacking up or work schedules interfered with street life.
One evening,
I sat across from this stolid guy,
his paint crumbling,
marked up around the top.
Time to ponder this deep question.
It’s been since the 1950’s!
At home, I looked it up.
Why?
A perennial question for a child;
a question I keep for such occasions
No answer was forthcoming,
it just squatted there,
little arms awaiting fire hoses.
Again, at home I looked it up.
Yellow is more visible to fire fighters than red!
Simple, logical and now I can rest my tired brain.
“A fire hydrant is not something you
want to lose, especially in an emergency.”
~ Shannon Wiersbitzky, What Flowers Remember
