Alaska

Point Aldophus

/ Salvatore Ala / Leave a comment
             Alaska
Place of massive accord
Nature and time
Whales and whale song
Amplified by deep
Ocean chords
Whale waves
Whale tides
Whale plumes
My breath expelled
My body rising
The animal
Born breaching
Footprint on the water
Weightless mammoth
Holding the breath
Of the world
In whale lungs
Amid humpbacked mountains
Baleen pines
Air swollen with mist
All swarming gulls
Whales trumpeting
Primeval synergy
Flukes flagging
The arc of their dive

Sparkling Coin Laundry

/ Salvatore Ala / Leave a comment

Juneau, Alaska

I washed my heart
At Sparkling Coin Laundry.
It washes people and place,
Forgives trespasses,
Cleans comings and goings
And trades in Indian Head coins.
Sails are washed,
Fishing nets and stars.
Hatchery workers
Rinse brine from their boots;
Mountain dwellers
Dry mountain clouds;
Raven and Eagle people
Shake out the wind.
A student studies his clothes.
All set time tumbling
At different times.
For everything there is a time…
I washed my heart
At Sparkling Coin Laundry.