INVASION
Brenda Ledford
Far away from the world
a holy hush fills the hills,
a temple beneath silken skies
where I can find peace
in the storm.
A field swells with goldenrod
and dogwoods wear scarlet beads,
a monarch butterfly casts
its shadow on scorched grass
and goose bumps prick my skin
as a poplar leaf rustles
in the rasping wind.
Warning posted on the coast,
a mean season for hurricanes.
Global warming, erratic weather patterns,
school violence, the war in Iraq,
fires raging out west,
a bomb threat near home;
the world closes in.