Nor’easter
The house on Atlantic Ave
……….teeters on the embankment’s
………,edge–
……….a feather could send it crashing.
The black-blue sea there’s no stopping
……….kicks in the door, strangles shore.
House’s floor: water’s feet.
Walls: sand and froth.
Salt: a tarnished coating.
Wind: a burglar wrestling shutters
……….whistles a tune about his weapon–
……….airborne gravel, a gravel of fists.
Underneath that abusive sky,
……….externalized and homeless.
Jami Macarty teaches contemporary poetry and creative writing at Simon Fraser University and is an editor of the online poetry journal The Maynard. A recipient of a BC Arts Council grant, her poems appear in Arc Poetry Magazine, Beloit Poetry Journal, Drunken Boat, The Fiddlehead, and PRISM international, among others.
To view other poems published in this issue please visit Vallum’s website.
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Vallum: Contemporary Poetry 
Maureen Bike said:
This N’orEaster hits more than a building of boards … also rips through humans within …and without.
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John Welch said:
The words (and haunting voice!) occupy both the eye and the aftermath of an awesome storm. Love it!
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SaucedbySally (@SaucedbySally) said:
I love the imagery of the wind as a burglar. Fantastic!
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Elizabeth Frank said:
Nor’easter shook my bones in an excellent way! I loved the bonus of hearing the poet’s powerful reading.
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Jan Doran said:
A powerful poem and a powerful reading. I now feel a least a small victory over “the forces arrayed against us”.
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Allison DeLauer said:
lovely lyric!
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