Monday, May 11, 2015

“A Watched Pot”


Water simmers   
on the edge of boiling   
Steam rises to the rim  
swirls with deceptive beauty 
a mist—that scalds and burns   

A few degrees more  
and turbulence erupts    
whirling into blistering instability   
Unrealized outrage   
that seethes and sputters   

A few degrees less   
and danger recedes—    
Gentling back into     
warmth and comfort   

Simmering again on the edge   
 
Copyright 2015 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman