A Scenic View

“poverty lines these roads linton scappoose rainier st helens where the burned out burger barns edge out the sky where sunburnt r-vees deliquesce over dirt roads where the weight of empty pockets is gangrenous to desiccated thoughts and prayers and shadows of shackles obfuscate light where sheds barely resemble houses resembling sheds where vernonia’s fields that once weren’t flood plains now sop the cows so thick they drown where the sign says docs tavern above the crushed spine of a porch where monty’s tow and stow with real antiques and dust are sold where america decays”— Mimi German

Miriam’s Well

By Mimi German

PORTLAND Oregon—(Weekly Hubris)—February 2021—Since we last heard from Mimi German in November 2020, her manuscript, Hair of Horse Eyes, won honorable mention in The Hopper Poetry Prize 2020 competition. About her manuscript, poet Lisa Kwong said, “These poems are lyric, evocative constellations of images. These brief poems reverberate beyond what is on the page, giving readers much to think on and feel long after the final page. Stunning music is scattered throughout all of these poems.” German is now using buildings abandoned during the COVID-19 pandemic as canvases for her poems.

A Scenic View
By Mimi German

poverty lines these roads   linton   scappoose   rainier   st helens   where   the burned out burger barns edge out the sky   where       sunburnt r-vees deliquesce over dirt roads   where   the weight of empty pockets is gangrenous to desiccated thoughts and prayers         and shadows of shackles obfuscate light   where   sheds barely resemble houses resembling sheds   where   vernonia’s fields that once weren’t flood plains now sop the cows so thick they drown   where   the sign says docs tavern above the crushed spine of a porch   where   monty’s tow and stow with real antiques and dust are sold   where   america decays   ‘merica the beautiful   where      the buzz hum and flash of an electric billboard with broken lights tells you that jesus saves   where   guns are for all and all are for      what exactly   what is the it everyone’s all for   where   in the ‘merica of the mind   lack of vision wins    where   blind is as blind sees   where   in the mobile home seep of this tumbleweed stew   sterilized wonder grows in the petri dish   where   the hills are steep and crumbling and the elk aren’t crossing anymore   where   the scenic view looks out to the shuttered steel mill across the river   where   the sunrise is a silhouetted shadow like an ode to a dirge   and the wind’s so strong it blows the seabirds sideways      where   cars drive into the ocean whose waves look like mud   where   all that’s left are dark waters and the crystal clear dream of a lollipop some politician doled out to the poor   where   someone smashed the snake and left it on the trail and the mule with no name has gone off to find another sunset   where   not even a rooster crows but two chickens converse on the side of the road      where   a truck with a flat rumbles by   where   the rain’s coming in from the west   the eastern sky is zipping up   where      desperados stole what would they could and the rest of   where   is scattered to the salty winds   no good for no one now   where      it’s cold and here comes the rain