Mike Jurkovick, 7/30/2012

Current Occupation: retired
Former Occupation: cable splicer
Contact Information: Mike hates bios, but since you asked: Purgatory Road (Pudding House Press, 2010). 300 national & international publication credits to date. Co-director of Calling All Poets, Beacon, NY. CD reviews appear in Elmore Magazine, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, Van Wyck Gazette. He loves Emily most of all.

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Passing Shower

I come from a long line of weathermen
who swore Noah’s storm a passing shower.

As the last son before nine daughters –
all of whom shattered the glass ceiling
by founding girlweather.com –
It was up to me
to keep the website current.

Freaky weather hit anytime, post-industrial,
and it was getting worse.

Mary swore the extinction winter
was seven Tuesday’s away.
Beth always saw rain,
gloomy girl that she was.

Tina, well, she liked the moon
and the lonely cool of autumn.
Molly, her twin, loved upheaval.

Kate married the king of taut convolutions,
had four kids and didn’t give a damn
which way the wind blowed.

I loved all my sisters, even if they were
crazier than shit-house rats
and often revised their forecast

Like Amber and Anita,
the second set of twins
who loved the New York heat.
Expensive humidity was Gaby’s bag,
the girl liked sweat, pure ‘n simple.

Mo’ kept it real,
I loved her for that.
“There’s a storm a-comin’ “
she’d always say.

A rose for Emily