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Poetic License: Dejection on a Florida Summer Afternoon

1 min read

On this ominous afternoon

I’ve had my fill of Florida,

My fill of alligator-friendly heat,

Of red weather

Bursting from the TV screen

Into a dark angry clot

Over our fail-safe houses

And alien lawns – my fill

Of violent venereal rain

Fueling the overgrowth

And overbuilding, the excess

Of Paradise paved over.

On this ominous afternoon

Lightning flashes

In diabolical sync

With the signs on Tamiami.

Inside my conditioned

Condo cocoon, outages blink

Off and on, off and on,

Urging me to evacuate

Before the unborn mosquitoes

Get to beat their wings

And the mouth of red weather

Swallows me whole.

Selected by Poetry About.com for its permanent Summer Poems collection.