John McKernan
At the Museum built of marble & granite
Looked like Steve Wise
And the gold necklaces
Looked like Steve Wise’s mother’s
Jewelry without her lime perfume
In one corner
Was a tall bronze statue
Of Steve Wise’s father
Holding a woman’s skull shivering with snakes
Nobody said a word
As we walked out of the building
And stared at the tornado funnel in West Omaha
Which would turn houses & trees & schools
Into splinters & ashes & dust
–
John McKernan is now a retired comma herder. He lives–mostly–in West Virginia where he edits ABZ Press. His most recent publication is a book of selected poems, Resurrection of the Dust.