~ Delta Poetry Review ~

Lisa Shulman

New Orleans Tornado Forecast for Mardi Gras Day

Like a despot whose only aim is ruin

a storm can rip whirlwinds

of rainbow sequins from jackets,

send tulle and feathered masks

flapping like broken birds,

make revelers bow their heads

against the pelting rain.

Suburban parades cancel in advance

those cautious citizens left

with empty cups and unworn finery.

But in this city tradition has no fear,

people take to the streets

bejeweled, glittered, lit from within

they dance to the brassy courage

of trumpets and drums,

refuse to kneel

before thunder and flash,

snatch their shining joy

from the wind’s wide mouth

like strands of golden beads.

Lisa Shulman is a poet, children’s book author, and teacher. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared or is forthcoming in About Place, Anacapa Review, Inkfish, Kitchen Table Quarterly, Chiron Review, New Verse News, ONE ART, Catamaran, and a number of other journals and anthologies. Her new chapbook is Fragile Bones, Fierce Heart (Finishing Line Press). Lisa lives in Northern California, where she teaches poetry with California Poets in the Schools. www.lisashulman.com