"Cosmic Terror" by Matthew Woodman

Cosmic Terror
(after the Rufino Tamayo painting Terror cósmico, 1954)

Today a hurricane with my name
tears northward the Florida coast
having devastated already Haiti
waking cholera and mosquitoes
storm flooding surge drowning
what won’t be washed away

Laura recommends meditation
that it helped save her life after
her own state of emergency who
has the time for that I laughed
when there is just cause for anger
righteous anger at what we won’t
do to each other
I would smite
them all before I had my second
cup of coffee I’m just another
chaos tangle of order yes I am
aware my fear is self-inflicted

why I ask my son are you yelling

Matthew Woodman

Matthew Woodman teaches writing at California State University, Bakersfield, and is the founding editor of the journal, Rabid Oak. His writing appears in recent issues of Sonora Review, Puerto del Sol, Habitat, Memoir Mixtapes, and Mojave Heart Review, and more of his work can be found at www.matthewwoodman.com.

Photo Credit: Staff