Tina J. Gordon: 2 poems

Road of Fire

Along the Sciara del Fuoco in the Mediterranean you can hear the earth
rumble, heave, sigh.
Like a heart that’s broken, it grieves. 
Listen in awe as the thunderous rage shifts to quiet weeping. Unpredictable, constant.
Whether roaring like waves against the shore,
or whispering a steady, discernible thump of a pulse, 
the ancient volcano demands attention. 
Uncontrolled spectacles appear without warning.
Look away and you miss bursts of smoke, flame, lava, ash;
they fall back to earth shedding their incandescent beauty, dangerous as a scorned lover. Their tiny explosions erratically foreshadow a spew of molten rock. 
Wait. Watch.
The eruption is inevitable.

Jellyfish 

Jellyfish build walls of water,
capture the sea in their tentacles,
allow invisible forces to propel them
in an elegant ballet.

Demonstrating no visible friction, they gently parachute
using the power of water to create transparent miracles of radial symmetry.

Pulsing mystically onward, 
the ease with which the jellyfish move is a deception.
Much as Nureyev once seemed to hang suspended in air,
their graceful movements only appear effortless. 

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_{Tina J. Gordon is the author of Hardscrabble Way, a coming of age novel about an affluent teenager who becomes homeless. She has previously published poetry, travel essays, and short stories including “Secrets” which appeared in the 2017 Main Street Rag Anthology Of Burgers & Barrooms. She recently completed a new novel about a woman who makes a grisly discovery in a trunk in her grandmother’s attic. Intentions is based on actual events.}

_{BLOG: http://www.teethetrav.travellerspoint.com WEBSITE: http://www.TinaJGordon.com}