Hurricane warning

HURRICANE




She has a cyclopean eye

Dead in the center

To survey on the sly

The summertime winter

That she blows on the land

With cool persistence,

Huffing and puffing to fan

Into pagan wet dance

The palms and the pines

While she strolls on

Whipping the vines—

This exotic Amazon!



1977/1981

"Hurricane" was first published in Monsters in a Half-way House, 1981.  It was my first attempt to write about hurricanes, meteorological events that occur each summer and early autumn in Florida and the surrounding seas and oceans.  They are impressive.  I have gone through at least a dozen in my 50 years as a Florida resident, starting with Donna.  Most are Category 1-3, which are survivable if one uses common sense.  The 4s and 5s endanger even the commonsensical, so the best one can do is get out of the way.  The worst was Andrew.
 
When I first wrote this poem, hurricanes were named after only women, although that has changed.  However, the female aspect fits in nicely with the Amazon concept.
 
It is now hurricane season; I keep my eye out.  One of my favorite movies with a hurricane is an old one:
Here's another enjoyable old movie with a hurricane:
Faulkner has a novella in which a hurricane factors: