December 18*

why there are no clams:

strong northwest wind
straight down the strait
four foot swells crossing a high tide
curl savagely into the beach
churning and grinding
rock and sand and logs
in roar of power.

trading energy
               from fire
               to air
               to water
               to earth.

*Copyright 2010 by Luther Allen. This poem appears in The View from Lummi Island.