AFTER EARTH DAY a REBIRTH DAY
“Earth provides enough to satisfy everyman’s need, but not
every man’s greed” — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Earth Day a typhoon came and it went
where did it go and where was it sent
Earthlings cleaned homes and beaches
doing their best, with positive outreaches.
Earth Day extends on into Earth Weeks
Earth Months and of course Earth Year
oceans polluted with sewage and oil leaks
typhoons hit the islands, more coming we fear.
Shall we keep it in mind and solemnly pray
as we exist on the third stone from the Sun
as we tilt, rotate, and revolve day after day
that Earth will be here whenever we’re done.
The Sun and Moon rise will help us keep track
what we take from the Earth we should give back.
TINIAN TYPHOON NIGHTMARE
(Written for the Gineptin Ha’anen, Taga Festival
on Tinian,CNMI. October 21-22, 2022)
Tonight on the 15th degree North latitude
I’m having a Tinian typhoon nightmare
most of my dreams have a positive attitude
try to stay safe, take caution, and take care.
Now ‘chalan kaskao’ muddy coral roads
San José village church almost gone
skies darken, heavy rain, wind explodes
typhoon eye directly overhead at dawn.
Putitainobiu flower stands out all alone
trunkon gagu pines bend with the wind
a skinny dog gnaws on a cow leg bone
when will this typhoon nightmare end.
Inside the reef big waves crash and surge
the typhoon moves on with destructive purge.
Note: The line “typhoon eye directly overhead at
dawn” happened to me on Tinian. After a long
loud dark night of strong winds and heavy rain
when dawn came the wind and rain stopped.
When I went outside and looked up there was
the clear eye of the storm directly overhead.
A natural phenomena! No rain. No wind. After
about 15 to 20 minutes the typhoon moved on.
A REEF REMEMBERS and RETAINS
The reef remembers almost everything
and sometimes for many years it retains
plastic, trash, shells where barnacles cling
muddy discharge for days after heavy rains.
Chungé birds fly in pair formation offshore
wheeling in tandem on an invisible trapeze
these graceful acrobats know what air is for
cavorting and catapulting capriciously with ease.
The heavy thud of waves outside on the reef
reminds us of the typhoon that just passed
for many days moving and acting the sand thief
no one knows how long the rough waves will last.
Clean beaches inside the reef took a beating
long time remembrances are now seeding.
Joey “Pepe Batbon” Connolly is a retired educator who taught in the CNMI, NOLA, and LVNV. He is the Poet Laureate of Tinian and enjoys stargazing.
