Two Poems
Crossing the Street in Hanoi
A multitude of motorbikes—
the street is swimming
with them—schools
of colorful fish weaving
and flowing around us
as though we are rocks
or seaweed or slowly moving
crayfish. They seem to swish
their tails as they go by.
Wisconsin Road Trip
This is the time of year
deer are out looking for sex.
They run the woods
and fields, cross
busy highways, taking risks.
Is it a conscious thing,
to follow a scent or a trail?
Or is it like wandering into a bar,
a whim of the moment
where some are lucky and others
find themselves in the wrong place
at the wrong time, end up
in a silent heap at the side of the road?
—Phyllis Wax, Milwaukee, WI
