War Lessons after a Blizzard
J. Quinn Brisben
soft sidewinding snow
comes in on no feet at all
stalls harbor and city
cripples my fine teaching plans
and then stays on forever
this beautiful blow
knocks our gross city out flat
slaps us with some truths
of unplanned inhuman grabs
smears old greed in our faces
our arteries clog
messages do not get through
we are all strung out
each loud bloody forward thrust
smothered stopped frozen tense
your trail-wise guide slumps
on dead white chopped up days
jangling to harsh bells
dragging tired slogans through slush
dissecting our mute grim past
Matt Brady's wet plate
grays us drains us stiffens us
in the wilderness
dyed with a century's mud
crawling toward kingdom coming
freeze thaw freeze thaw freeze
we warp are scored get cut up
ground into new soil
come spring maybe seeds will sprout
from raw gaps in outgrown shells
