To Stop an Avalanche
place a bomb below it, and I’m not talking a metaphorical one,
a real nasty bomb like you’d see in a Sam Peckinpah picture starring Steve McQueen. Aim at the target several loads of dynamite or train a Howitzer high
to a leeward slab mocking the wind. Slice it off like a smooth
layer cake at a dull office party. Watch out for a pack
more than thirty degrees, especially after
a snowstorm. Yesterday, my patrol buddy
Dave released a slide by skiing to the top—
hope he won’t get buried this time. Wet
Sierra cement is quite stubborn to
explosives, but dry is the real killer,
the monster feeding on ego, speeds
topping ninety miles on the 105
impressing his girlfriend in
the red Camaro. Why all
the violence against
Nature? ‘Cause she’s
not sterile, but sneaky,
a heckuva lot smarter
than us.
This poem was part of the Sierra Poetry Festival’s Opening Event for National Poetry Day in Nevada City, CA
OPENING: POEMS ON BELONGING AT THE ROOD
THE MONTH OF APRIL
The Lobby at the Rood Center
950 Maidu Avenue
Nevada City, CA 95959
From World Poetry Day through National Poetry Month, Nevada County Arts Council, the County of Nevada and Nevada County Libraries present Poems on Belonging at the Rood. Our exhibition is an intimate grouping of poems that center individual notions of belonging, yet are distinct from one another. We hope our exhibition sparks conversations that encourage belonging. We feel that public spaces such as the Rood Center should be welcoming and encouraging for all people. After all, if there is one thing we have in common, it is that Nevada County is our home.
Imaginative imagery and allusive phraseology, both bringing poetry’s potential to the fore. Thank you for sharing this, Alice.