Cumulus assemble
like plump pullet hens
clucking about damage done.
Henlopen dunes flattened
a hemlock felled on Stockley
a poplar stopping
traffic on Norfolk
fallen wires festooning cars
like snakes rained from heaven.
White clumps quilt the Inlet Beach.
Towards the lighthouse
a single bright burst
of violet and rose drain
on the horizon.
Close to shore cooped-up
surfers, now freed, streak
slick as seals down steep,
hollowed waves, disappear
under a mocha-colored water wall.
One still upright raises his fist
in triumph, triggering hurrahs
from turtle-necked, goose-downed
spectators on the boardwalk
who will sally home
clean up branches and debris
gaggle ‘bout the Nor’easter
over ouzo by the fire
and snooze, dream of
clusters of flustered gulls,
speckled feathers ruffled,
re-colonizing the sand.
© by Liz Dolan.
Used with the author’s permission.
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