Carnival Ride, Mid-West State Fair, 1949
A ride like never before seen!
The Amazing Tiltawaki Racing Machine!
Hold on, kiddies! Don’t fret, mother.
For a ride, it’s as safe as any other.
Let Tommy ride, he’s almost fourteen.
There they go!
….
Uh oh….
The Amazing Tiltawaki Racing Machine
Made the biggest explosion that’s ever been seen!
Yes, the tragedy of Tom cuts like a knife.
Oh, don’t cry, mother. He had the ride of his life.
And just think, he almost made it to fourteen.
Corn
The dark roiling sky churns for hours, refusing
to open.
The sky flashes lightning, igniting a barn, but refusing
to open.
The hard earth shrinks, and like a web across the field,
cracks open.
The dust, the stalks lie open under the clouds, almost as if
straining with hope.
Drops fall, singly, scattered, from clouds
bloated with rain.
Then the dark clouds quiet, pull apart,
dissipate,
Again the sun spreads its heat, blazing across the cloudless sky,
almost as if laughing.
November 1, 2013, CBS News
Police: Suspect LAX gunman sent “suicide text” to family
Paul Anthony Ciancia texted a suicide wish.
Or a suicide determination.
Or a suicide fear.
(Specifics have not yet been reported.)
So he shot a man he did not know.
Paul Anthony Ciancia did not get his wish.
The police don’t grant wishes.
Or fulfill our fears.
Just because we want them to.
They arrested Paul Anthony Ciancia.
They chased him in the airport.
They fired shots.
(Specifics have not yet been reported.)
Paul Anthony Ciancia is not dead.
But not for lack of trying.
A Poet's Indulgence 