Second Coming No. 19 — Feb. 7, 2025
A poem-a-day protest against the threat posed to our democracy by the current occupant of the White House
Cammy Thomas
Stink
I smell something
like burning rubber with sugar,
very strong but coming from where?
Something chemical, something
poisonous but maybe not there.
Am I dreaming dread?
I get up, look under the bed.
The hot chemical stink
pierces my nose
but all is still and quiet, just dust.
In the yard, I smell burning,
but see no fires,
just black sky, hot stars.
Walk through my empty house,
moon stripes the floor,
faint sounds of water,
dishwasher cycling.
I sniff its latch but nothing.
Metallic ozone—
the stove is cold,
the world silent,
this smell permeating me,
war smell, waste smell,
petroleum sugar.
Cammy Thomas’s most recent book is Odysseus’ Daughter (Parkman Press, 2023) poems written in response to the Odyssey. Three previous poetry collections were published by Four Way Books—Cathedral of Wish, recipient of the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America; Tremors, which received 2022 Poetry Honors from the Mass Book Awards; and Inscriptions, funded in part by a fellowship from the Ragdale Foundation. Poems have appeared recently in Naugatuck River Review, Hampden Sydney Review, Smartish Pace, and The Ilanot Review. A resident of the Boston area, Thomas teaches literature to adults.
Indolent Books and editor Michael Broder are back with another poem-a-day series as a creative response to the threat posed to our democracy by the current occupant of the White House. The plan is to continue for all 1460 days of the 47th American presidency.
Find out how to submit poems or flash prose pieces to Second Coming.
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