They Asked
by Wanda Schubmehl

They asked what I missed about Richmond, Virginia.
White tulips at midnight, ghostly in moonlight.
A black cat beneath a mimosa tree.
Geodes on the bank of an ancient river,
water rising with the tide.

They asked what I missed about Irondequoit, New York.
Wild turkey footprints stamped out in snow.
Summer cicada music, firefly flash.
The body of deep water
in a basin sunk by icebergs.

They asked what I missed about Earth.
Line after line of jagged mountains.
The ozone smell after a summer storm.
Hoopoe, pheasant, condor, sparrow,
Pileated woodpecker, red, on a dying tree.

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