by Ange Mlinko
illustrator Daniel Egnéus
Issue X
Eric Blair barely escaped the vortex in the Gulf
of Corryvreckan, called Charybdis Brecani by St. Adamnan.
To take the name Orwell keeps the whirlpool close.
These Lacassine cities grew out of loathing: Opelousas,
prettier than crape myrtle the grazing horses.
George Orwell barely escaped the vortex. In the Gulf,
the Gator Chateau, near Evangeline, serves Hurricanes.
Calcasieu: kid throwing bottle caps at the fuel pumps;
their fizz keeps the whirlpool close.
Trucks haul carnival rides, coils of chain link fencing,
portable generators. An army convoy goes by;
who knows if it escaped the vortex in the Gulf.
A washed dollar comes up pale fuchsia, like a spoonbill.
In these parts, fuchsia blooms without hoopla
but its radial symmetry keeps the whirlpool close.
Mockingbirds bray on the live oak spoke.
Gulls land on the stern where coil the ropes.
Eric Blair barely escaped the vortex in the Gulf.
To take the name Orwell keeps the whirlpool close.
