Warning

American flags
disintegrate silently on the moon.
Here on Earth, news
has become the tinnitus
of modern life.

Ancient Rome was saved
by a flock of honking geese.
Today’s woodpecker
is drumming hollow warnings:
is anyone listening?

Kim M. Russell, 17^th April 2017

Image found on sciencealert.com

On Day 17 of The Poetry School’s NaPoWriMo prompts, we’re working with Aphorism and Fragment.

Ali Lewis says that the aphorism is a difficult form: you have to be smart, terse, self-knowing, and incredibly confident. On the other hand, how many of us have lines, half-lines and phrases we’ve always wanted to use? Well, now’s the time to dust them off, as aphorisms and fragments work best in groups. In fact, Don Paterson has a whole book of them, The Book of the Shadows.

I’m on shaky ground here. This prompt is tricky and not my usual thing. But I was determined to give it my best shot.