The day smells industrial.
A power plant to the south
sends black plumes
out of its tower.
A man paddles a boogie board
through the shallows.
Offshore, a gray destroyer
treads water. It seems
as harmless as
a bathtub toy.
The war is a distant thing
where men, women,
and children die
beyond the bent horizon.
This poem was written on the beach in Oceanside, California.
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Reviews of "Observations from Oceanside"
Reviewed by C. Gourlay (Reader)
Reviewed on June 11, 2002
love the conversational way you have written this piece, and how you pull it all together in the last line or two. paints pictures in mind . . .and then scribbles them all out at the end (absolute power)
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treads water. It seems
as harmless as
a bathtub toy. ....that says it all...awesome write