by John Dorroh
Discount Bin Forecasts for Winter Conditions
My suntan expired
proving that skin doesn’t
react the same
to hours of TV glare
and the hum
of leftovers
on the microwave turntable.
Today, exposed flesh will freeze in two minutes.
Science doesn’t
make me feel any warmer.
Instead, I’m conditioned
to believe in deals.
These low-low-low temperatures
promoted like some kind of sale,
how they’ll only last for five days
(because they could linger for ten).
Sometimes, I wish forecasts were hidden
in fortune cookies
Be patient. Weather is only a temporary existence.
Lucky numbers -34 -35 -38 -32 -29
Same accuracy. Less guilt
about snapping something in half.
And there would also be something sweet
to take the edge off the fresh news
that a past flame is burning
up a new girl’s sidewalk
and my knees
are now old enough
to ache in the cold.
Jenny Wong is a writer, traveler, and occasional business analyst. She resides in the foothills of Alberta, Canada where it is not unusual to find winter weeks of extreme cold brought on by a polar vortex. Recent publications include Second Chance Lit, Flash Frog, and The Night Heron Barks. Find her on Twitter @jenwithwords.
John Dorroh is too easily distracted from things that matter. He seems to thrive best in quiet places with few people who, for the most part, talk too much. ‘I asked a friend if she’d seen the strange and beautiful clouds yesterday, and she looked at me as if I might be bonkers.’ Perhaps the pandemic has caused him to pay attention to the natural world. He’s a Southerner living in the Midwest where you can clearly see weather fronts coming in. He is a frequent contributor to Feral and many other journals. His cell phone photography once paid for a nice meal at a sushi restaurant.