A Room of My Own:Path of Milton Haiku

No More Fairy Tales, XXXIV

the path of Milton ...

a bunglow tied down by straps

bolted to the ground

FYI: The New Yorker, Oct. 8: Why Hurricane Milton Is a Sign of the New Abnormal

“We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.” This assessment, co-authored by several of the world’s leading climate scientists, was published on Tuesday, in the journal BioScience. 

Milton, pretty much from its inception, has been an abnormal storm. “It is exceedingly rare for a hurricane to form in the western Gulf, track eastward, and make landfall on the Western coast of Florida,” Jonathan Lin, an atmospheric scientist at Cornell, explained to Vox. As Milton swirled over the Gulf of Mexico, it encountered water that was almost three and a half degrees hotter than usual for early October. 

The storm went from barely a hurricane to a Category 5 storm in less than twenty-four hours (FYI: CBS News, Oct. 10: Hurricane Milton makes landfall as Category 3 on Florida's west coast.) 

Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, says that he’s “not a global-warming person.” Just a few months ago, he signed a bill that erased most references to the problem from state law. 

Added: Game Show, 2024, LXVI

written in response to ABC News, Oct. 7: More than 230 people have been killed from Hurricane Helene, which unleashed devastation across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

raging waters

tear through state after state

drill, baby, drill louder

FYI: KALW Public Media, Oct. 8: Donald Trump's "drill, baby, drill" policies will worsen the climate crisis. And MSNBC, August 8: Trump’s "drill baby drill" plan: The wrong answer to the right questions

Asked about his jobs plan, Donald Trump pointed to oil drilling. 

Asked about housing affordability, he again pointed to oil drilling.

Added: No More Fairy Tales, XXXV

bumpertobumper 

traffic on the 12-lane highway

as raging waters sweep

we'reallinthis

t o ge t   h  e    r   a gain

Added: Game Show, 2024, LXVII

my body, my choice 

penetrating the distant chants

of USA!

I gaze at Lady Liberty’s

forward-facing charge