Lately, the weather in Northeast Ohio seems off. It’s probably not; it’s probably my imagination. Since I’m mostly working from home, the weather is more noticeable to me than it used to be. After all, somebody has to take the dog out, somebody has to bring in the deliveries. Somebody has to notice the late cold or unseasonable warmth.
Of course, somebody ought to notice those smaller things that were always out there, going about their lives, unappreciated, too. It’s no longer May, when this poem was written, but that sentiment remains. Those small things add up.
Northeast Ohio, 2020
On
a
cold cold
day in May,
walking the dog, ears
covered and wearing no mask be-
cause I am alone
here, passing
by fake
gas-
lights.
Yet,
wind
riots
through the crab-
apple trees, throwing
returned robins a confetti
parade. Silently
they accept
ticker-
tape:
pink.
What around you ought to be noticed more, or more often?
Northeast OH is one of those places that gets overlooked a lot of the time. Too Rust Belt, too Old School, too…not the triggering point of anything cool. Not Retro Enough. Blaah. Every place has its own points worth silently celebrating. It’s like a fractal image: look closely, then look even more closely, and there inside all that detail, there’s a new world you hadn’t even noticed.
Are you doing the Sealey Challenge?
For all your poetry readers out there, are you doing the Sealey Challenge? I’m considering it….
Missed a poem? Links to prior poems can be found on this page.
You’ll find more of my poems on this blog or in the collection Stars Crawl Out From Their Caves, which is available in both ebook and print.