{"id":7876,"date":"2022-10-19T14:24:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T14:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/?p=7876"},"modified":"2022-10-19T14:24:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T14:24:36","slug":"unexpected-disturbances-rhododendrons-blooming-in-the-smokies-two-poems-by-gary-grossman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/unexpected-disturbances-rhododendrons-blooming-in-the-smokies-two-poems-by-gary-grossman\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected Disturbances & Rhododendrons Blooming in the Smokies. Two Poems by Gary Grossman"},"content":{"rendered":"
Unexpected Disturbances<\/strong>\r\n\r\nDamn, what the hell?\r\nI shuffle upstream, rod\r\nin hand, just outside the  \r\nrhododendron line, and\r\nam struck by flying needles \r\nforearm, ankle and neck.\r\neffing yellow jackets. \r\n\r\nMother drove poorly\r\nalways fiddling,\r\ncigarettes or radio.\r\nuntil her \u201865 \r\nKarmann Ghia vaulted\r\na 30 foot embankment\r\non the road cleaving \r\n\r\nthe sage-shrouded hills \r\nbetween Tecate and \r\nTijuana \u2013 DOA\u2014\r\nthis story is true, not\r\nartistic license. I\r\nwas orphaned at eighteen,\r\nno sibs, no dad.\r\n\r\nAnd so life is an\r\nerupting Krakatoa,\r\na Hurricane Katrina,\r\nan unexpected disturbance, \r\nCOVID-19, recession\r\ncancer, bipolarity\r\nand yellow jackets,\r\n\r\ntill the chips are cashed. <\/pre>\n
Rhododendrons Blooming in the Smokies <\/strong>\r\n\r\nIn Summer\u2019s rumpled heat, the blue \r\nScent of hemlocks slides upwards, \r\nSpreading comfort across the ridgetops.\r\n\r\nStooped shoulders the ridges, remainders \r\nOf pinnacles, scoured by centuries \r\nThen slowly cloaked in oak and maple.   \r\n \r\nJust below the ridgetops, an emerald \r\nSea, sharp pines weaving winds \r\nThat unfurl through the hollers.\r\n\r\nFrom the top of a ridge I can almost \r\nTouch them, reach down through wet air, \r\nTo green-bedded pink blossoms. \r\n\r\nThe fluttering hearts of a slow-rolling valley.<\/pre>\n
 
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\nGary Grossman<\/strong> is Professor Emeritus of Animal Ecology at University of Georgia. His poetry is published or forthcoming in 30 reviews including: Verse-Virtual, Your Daily Poem, MacQueen\u2019s Quinterly, Poetry Superhighway, and Delta Poetry Review. Short fiction in MacQueen\u2019s Quinterly and creative non-fiction in Tamarind Literary Magazine. For 10 years he wrote the \u201cAsk Dr. Trout\u201d column for American Angler. Gary\u2019s first book of poems, Lyrical Years<\/em> is forthcoming in 2023 from Kelsay Press, and his graphic novel My Life in Fish: One Scientist\u2019s Journey<\/em> is forthcoming. Hobbies include running, music, fishing, and gardening. Website: https:\/\/www.garygrossman.net<\/a>\/ Writing: Blog: https:\/\/garydavidgrossman.medium.com<\/a>\/ .
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\nRobin Ouzman Hislop is Editor of Poetry Life and Times<\/a> at Artvilla.com <\/a>; You may visit Aquillrelle.com\/Author Robin Ouzman Hislop <\/a> about author & https:\/\/poetrylifeandtimes.com<\/a> See Robin performing his work Performance (University of Leeds)<\/a><\/p>\n
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Unexpected Disturbances Damn, what the hell? I shuffle upstream, rod in hand, just outside the rhododendron line, and am struck by flying needles forearm, ankle and neck. effing yellow jackets. Mother drove poorly always fiddling, cigarettes or radio. until her \u201865 Karmann Ghia vaulted a 30 foot embankment on the road cleaving the sage-shrouded hills … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[963,808,796,366,401,43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7876"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7881,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions\/7881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}