Russell Streur- Two Poems

CALAMITY AND DREAD PLAY A GAME

Calamity:         Rock.

Dread:       Paper.

Calamity:   Scissors.

Dread:              I get it.  Let’s go another round.

Calamity:       Rock.

Dread:              Paper.

Calamity:         Scissors.

Dread:             Improvised explosive device.

Calamity:         You catch on quick.

Dread:              Two out of three?

Calamity:         Garment factory collapse.

Dread:              Disappearing airplane.

Calamity:         Sinking ferry.

Dread:              Kidnapped school girls.

Calamity:         Business as usual.

Dread:              You win.  Let’s play war.

BLANKET RULE

Plant the people in a circle.

Remember the places we have been and are but makami now:

Nether and peak

Den and horns

Down and meath

Mark and wold.

(Exchange the gift)

“Wolf predicts the future,”

The elder said.

“What happens to wolf

            Happens to us.

What happens to us

            Happens to others.

You can try to dance around it

But it’s a fact.

It should wake everyone up.”