The July of Never Before
A News Response Poem
Week One 1: I take my husband to the doctor because he has been coughing up blood. The doctor says he has brochitis but I am dissatisfied with this answer. The Supreme Court rules that Donald Trump and all presidents are entitled to immunity for "official acts." 2: Democrats begin to call on President Biden to step aside after his debate with former President Trump. 3: I have breakfast at a French bakery with a friend who tells me he is stockpiling guns and ammo. Thunderstorms wake me up at night. 4: I miss the 4th of July fireworks in Slater, Iowa, because they were held on the 3rd. It rains. 5: Biden tells ABC's George Stephanopoulos that only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to drop out. There is a derecho in the northern part of the state. 5. I attempt to do laundry but lack motivation. 6: There are storms at night. 7: I go to the grocery store but have forgotten my grocery list. There are heavy showers in the early hours with flash flooding reported. Week Two 8: At work, my printer jams. 9: I pick coneflowers and phlox from the garden on the side of the house. 10: The governor of Iowa issues disaster declaration for seven counties in response to severe storms and flooding. 11: I wake to thunderstorms. 12: My mother brings me fresh peaches from Missouri and my husband and I eat them standing over the sink, juice running down our hands. 13: It is hot and humid. I am walking my dog when my husband texts me that Trump has been shot at a rally in Butler, Pa. My mother brings a peach pie for dinner. 14: My mother brings a gooseberry pie for dinner. Week Three 15: Federal judge dismisses Trump's classified documents case. A tornado touches down not far from me. Trump picks Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) on the Republican National Convention’s opening day. 16: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is convicted in a sweeping corruption trial. 17: Biden tests positive for COVID and self-isolates at his Delaware beach house. My mother brings us the first tomato of the season from her garden. 18: Trump accepts GOP nomination. 19: A flawed CrowdStrike software update takes down key internet services. I have a zoom meeting with a staff member who is at home dog-sitting for his parents. The dog runs back and forth gleefully behind him while we are on the call. 20: I meet a friend for breakfast in a nearby rural town and afterwards get trapped in traffic behind their annual parade. It starts to rain and I try to find my way home but get lost on the gravel roads. I cry a little and don’t know why. 21: I walk over a trestle trail bridge with a friend in the early morning. We see a blue heron soaring over the river far below. President Biden withdraws from the race. It rains. Week Four 22: Harris secures enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee. It rains at night and into the morning. 23: I attend a luncheon of college interns. When I ask them what is most important to them, they say flexible work schedules and vacation. A low pressure wave pushes severe thunderstorms across the state. 24: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a fiery speech to a joint session of Congress. Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office, saying it's time to "pass the torch." 25: Rain showers pushed through much of western Iowa over the afternoon hours. My husband coughs all night. 26: Summer Olympics open in Paris. The Seine is too polluted for athletes to swim in. I drive to a small rural town for the weekend and have a picnic in a meadow by a pond with friends. We sit quietly and watch the brilliant orange sun set behind the clouds. 27: A rocket attack from Lebanon kills 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field in the Golan Heights. I complete a half marathon in memory of my best friend who died last November, walking through a nature conservancy near a river valley, through fields of bee balm so thick the fragrance clings to my clothing. 28: There are thunderstorms all day. After dinner, I go outside in the rain in my bare feet and cut lavender colored Russian Sage. Week Five 29: A six-week abortion ban goes into effect in Iowa. My husband coughs all night. 30: Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike. The sky turns black outside my window and thunderstorms knock out the power throughout the state. 31: The top Hamas political leader is assassinated in Iran. Hamas blames Israel. I am the guest of a renowned oncologist on his cancer education podcast. We talk about poetry. He reads: “Bless the eyes and the listening ears. Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste. Bless touching.” While on a walk in the park, my dog learns to drink from a water fountain. He shakes with joy.
Author’s Notes: The poetry quoted above in the last stanza is from Mary Oliver’s “The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac.” The top photo is from Whiterock Conservancy in Coon Rapids, Iowa. The bottom photo is my dog, Tango, drinking from a water fountain.
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I so hope for good news for your husband.
Stunning.