Tsunami!
by Harry Gilleland Jr. (Louisiana)
Source: Gilleland Poetry (2005) p.7
Tsunami... dreadful tsunami...
waves of destruction from the sea....
Untold energy has been set in motion
by an earthquake down on the ocean floor.
Sunbathers on faraway beaches apply lotion,
oblivious to danger arriving in a few hours more.
In deep waters the tsunami waves are long
and shallow, traveling both far and fast.
On the surface nothing appears wrong,
but deep, deep below, the die has been cast.
As the deep waves near the shallows of the shore,
they slow down and rise higher and higher.
Now a monstrous wave taller than ever before,
the tsunami crashes ashore...crashes ashore.
The power of the water wantonly washes away
structures and lives as it surges, then recedes,
only to return, its waves now even deadlier.
Debris-laden, it pounds away... pounds away.
As it withdraws, the tsunami full succeeds
in humbling Man, for it's truly amazing to see
the death and devastation wrought by the tsunami,
delivering the awesome power of the deep blue sea.
Tsunami...dreadful tsunami....
waves of destruction from the sea...
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This poem "Tsunami" is nominated Best Poem of the Year 2005 for the 2nd Muses Review Awards or 2006 Muses Prize..
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Summer Gold
by Harry Gilleland Jr. (Louisiana)
Source: Gilleland Poetry (2005) p.86
In fields of green rows
stand stalks so straight and tall,
laden with precious gold encased
within the bulging green husks.
With a twist and a tug,
each ripe ear is freed,
then carried from the field
to be sold at the produce stand,
a farmer's care and concerns
contained within the crop.
Eight bushel baskets full,
some four hundred ears
are bought and carried home.
In the shady heat of the covered porch,
the husks are ripped open, then away.
Both cob ends are cut with sharp cutlery,
all worms and diseased kernels removed,
and the golden cob carefully brushed clean
o clingy, wispy silk by starch-sticky hands,
all amidst the annoying heat and flies,
the pleasantly corny conversation,
and a growing mound of green and gold debris.
The cleaned cobs are now carried inside
for washing, then brought to a blanching boil
in huge pots that fill the kitchen air
with high heat and humidity.
From the blanched ears, row upon row
of sweet, plump, golden kernels
are cut and scraped off the cob.
Bagged in pint freezer bags by the dozens,
this day's culinary efforts will provide
good eating year 'round of fresh-tasting
fleeting summer gold.
This poem "Summer Gold" is nominated Best Poem of the Year 2005 for 2006 Muses Prize or 2nd Muses Review Awards for Poetry.
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Copyright (c) 2005 to Harry Gilleland Jr.
Available in print edition.
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Poet from Louisiana
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Harry E. gilleland, Jr. is passionate about his poetry. His poetry has appeared on numerous Internet poetry forums, in several poetry e-zines, in three multi-author print anthologies of poems and short stories, and in two books of his collected works. Harry is retired from a career as a Professor of Microbiology at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport and now devotes himself full-time to his career as a poet.
Harry is a southerner by birth and by inclination. Born and raised in Macon, Georgia, he now resides in Shreveport, Louisiana with his beloved wife, Linda, and their two dogs, Rusty and Pepper, all of whom sometimes find themselves the subject of his poetry.