Salamander: “The Face of a New Storm”

“The Face of a New Storm,” #56 Spring/Summer 2023, published in Salamander

The Face of a New Storm

with a line by Fred Marchant

There have always been storms Earth born from storm.

The landscape, a particular haunting I flew toward the epicenter after many fled. Met flooded canals, felled trees. Tumors. All kinds of tumors.

My mind can’t comprehend moving off planet No greenery or sunlit fields My language wreaks of blame until I try to imagine a world completely merciful.