by Diana Morley.
When an arctic air blast nears zero here
maybe 60 under my desk near the door
best to check tail-end news for the magic
of an LOL! to warm up down to my toes.
Today totally rewarding. A young Dutch
chess player was fined for wearing canvas
sneakers at a chess championship—as if
a toe wriggle under the canvas might be
a tell translated by a journalist and sent
to viewers ahead of a vital move. OMG!
My own toes now warmed to sixty-five
or so, as I search for yet another bit of
end news, hoping for seventy—come
summer, as heat domes spread, maybe
end news will hold more about our daft
human ways and cool my sweaty brow.
Magic Missing
Sun not yet set
rampaging winds
whip the earth
as if wanting
to wipe off
the whole mess
and start over.
Pleas from earth keepers
torn apart—hanging chads
pelted to the ground
under a sweeping roar.
Our planet, our home
no childs’ Magic Slate
with pull-up plastic.