Poetry Report: I-5 Bridge Collapse

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“Moss stains
the asphalt’s veins”

With the I-5 bridge collapsing during another incredibly rainy spring here in the Northwest, my thoughts turn to how resilient people in the Northwest are. We have to be, fighting against the constant erosion at every turn.

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North of Seattle


A bridge collapses
into the Skagit
and cars dive in.
Rain beats bloom
off the Rhododendrons.
Moss stains
the asphalt’s veins.

The tide rises
with slick salmon
and lost leaders.
The barbeque
is full of sleeping snails.

Paint peels back
to brown sentences
of forgiveness
on soaked houses.
Wash Me on the
delivery van
washes off.

Not many reasons to go out
as the whiskey goes in.
Mud tracks through
the kitchen
without apology

and the leaking wall
blossoms mold.
While water dances
like the top of a 7-Up on I-5,

my daughter, from the
back seat, asks
"Where are we going?"
as the slate sky
slams again into
the dark frame
of the mountains.

I don't know anymore.
All I can do
is turn the radio up
and drive through
the gray curtains.

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