WONDERS

by Katherine Riegel

 

 

The Mississippi River ran backwards more than once. A real
flight simulator—one pilots train in—

makes you feel like you’re flying,
even though it’s only a screen in front and six hydraulic legs

simulating motion. A hummingbird hawk-moth’s wings
beat eighty-five times per second. One summer night in 1975,

you believed—absolutely, without any question—in ghosts. Human beings
crave certainty over uncertainty, even if it’s only the certainty of suffering.

Trees talk to each other,
and not just in books. A kid who was tortured in some ordinary Midwest town

lifts her hand and feeds an old horse his hay.
Even when lies run through the streets like molasses,

the good work goes on. We don’t always forget
to be amazed.

 

 

 

 

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