waves

ocean waves that looked slow-moving
and leisurely from
my balcony room
in the sky
are swift moving and powerful, frightening
even
when I am standing in them;
a wild hullabaloo
out beyond the front-line breakers
a gnashing
throttle
smack-down of Great Wall of China
waves thrashing
in a foamy slobber
rigmarole
with something of the
final judgment
in it.

Wayne F. Burke's poetry has been widely published online and in print (including in Dissident Voice). He is the author of eight published full-length poetry collections -- most recently Black Summer, 2021, Spartan Press. He lives in Vermont (USA). Read other articles by Wayne F..