Harriet Zinnes
Tees


Triangle
Turmoil
Transgression
Oh, the T's in one's life!

Do not tarry.
Turn toward the torrents of rain
while you, with head uncovered,
wipe the tears from your lips
and touch the raindrops on your cheeks.

Time flies
even as the rain covers the tower,
and even as the door closes
on the town's only church.

Now the streets are vacant.
The tourists have left,
and the townspeople have turned
to their televisions
to hear why the turrets have fallen
and why the President's cheek is scarred.

Time, time will tell
why the Treasury drawers become thinner and thinner.

Oh, oh, the bombs are falling.
Torture is swelling the caves.
I turn weeping to the telephone.
There is no sound.
Suddenly I hear a click and six clanging tones:
"Your phone is out of order," snarls a taunting voice.

A terrible century is born.