-catastrophic-

in images broadcast from weather reports,

the snowfall in Atlanta

appears to be a pleasant dusting.

but in crippled Atlanta, three inches

and children are held captive within

their classrooms.

teachers are made into heroes.

tepid milk is delivered by shaken lunch-

room staffers who then disappear

into the basements for an icy smoke.

It's two days and counting in Atlanta.

business is shuttered

and employees are cloistered

in cubicles behind their desks.

power flickers and fails.

a solitary death is reported as "possibly storm related".

paralytic automobiles and cracked
tractor-trailer rigs are scattered bumper to bumper,

bulldog ornament to mudflap pinup along the morbid,
arthritic strain of Atlanta's highways in stasis under three,
I say three, inches of snow, and city officials are reporting

there simply isn't enough salt.

January, 2014