She’s Knocking
Irma’s knocking,
Knock, knock, knocking
On Florida’s door —
Porous portals held shut by
Pushing hands —
Brown, black, yellow, white —
Strained biceps of
Beach bum Floridians,
Cracker Floridians,
Redneck Floridians,
Condo-building and
Swamp-selling Floridians,
Veggie-picking,
Fast-food-serving and
Mar-a-Lago-bed-making Floridians —
One, two, three generations
Born, transplanted, and refugeed
In orange groves,
Heat-baked tomato fields,
Cypress swamps,
Gritty beaches,
Miami ghettos,
Piney woods and
Muggy hammocks.
Snow-escaping Yankees,
Sun-seeking Mid-Westerners,
Choosing hurricanes over
Blizzards and
Monster twisters.
Paradise on a shoe-string
No state taxes,
No government interference,
Like Wild West cowboys
Wearing mouse ears,
Shots of tequila,
Buckets of limes,
Lines of snow —
Hot, not cold,
Praising Jesus,
Hallelujah!
We’ve come to
The Promise Land
To destroy and build,
Build and destroy.
Governor ET-look-alike Scott
Warning of Irma,
Predicting devastation
After breaking backs of
Budgets
For climate science
And hurricane relief —
Warning us to run to
Someplace with
Better budgets for
More resources —
Not chugged away like
Spring-breakers’ beer
By public-hating conservatives,
Pissed back on still-believing voters
Like Harvey’s heart-drowning rains.
No, not global warming,
Not climate change,
Not science-warned destruction
Striking unlucky voters
Who voted for
Lying politicians
And scamming businessmen
Who now warn of
Apocalyptic storms
Not caused by men,
Not caused by them.
Run, Floridians, run,
Like the Puerto Ricans can’t —
Let them tread water
Or drown —
Not real Americans, right?
Lucky they can’t be deported,
Lucky we’ll wrap the
American flag around
Their rain-soaked and
Wind-tossed
Brown bodies —
Lucky we don’t treat them
Like Mexicans.
Harvey’s sister, Irma
Knock, knock, knocking —
Climate change cousin Juan —
Traveling behind,
Following Irma,
Knock, knock, knocking.
Hear the knocking, Scott?
Hear the pounding, Trump?
Fate
Knock, knock
Knocking on your door.
