The Day After The Flood
The day after the flood when
the road was out of commission
and I mean out of commission
a motorcyclist showed up in the
evening as we all stood there
looking at a chasm in the road
now we looked at the motorcyclist
and the motorcyclist looked at us
we all looked at the heap of fallen
rock and chasm into what was once
a road and the motorcyclist
looked at it as well
it wasn’t easy to turn around
and all this rock was in the
way for him heading further
until he insisted his motorcycle
up onto the rock as good as
telling us he was continuing
the people who had been there
at least half dispersed seeing this
craziness and wanting no part of it
the rest looked for a little while and
then they too were gone, this left me
with an old farm hand as we watched
the motorcyclist defy intelligence
and get himself and his bike locked
up onto the rocks and that’s
when he turned around and
looked back at us standing
there watching and that’s when
we saw the little dog peek out from
the cyclist’s leather jacket and now
the dog was looking at us too, and
then I was looking at the farm hand
and the farm hand was looking at me
and we went to help the motorcyclist
and the dog get up and over the
rubble mountain, scratching and
denting the bike until it was over
and with little or no fanfare the
rider with the dog took off sending
back at us a little hand wave
Signs
For years, even decades
the little strong box
for leaving money
or taking your change
in the red shanty
alongside the road
up from the farm
where corn is bought
never had a lock
the day it did
life as we knew it
was over
The Void
It will get as cold as it wants to
tonight, you have no choice little man
either get some shelter
or freeze to death
if you freeze to death
you’ll be invincible
as a planet seen from space
—————————
Bob Arnold
Heaven Lake
Longhouse 2018
Downtown Wilmington, Vermont
at the height of Hurricane Irene
28 August 2011
28 August 2011
