Wiscasset, Maine - October 2024
Maine's Prettiest Village, launching point
across the entangled arms of the Sheepscot
shielded by the bay from its sly ways.
Floral displays funded by Yankee nuclear
until decommissioned, the derailed
narrow gauge now only for show.
From main to side, streets
layered back into federal history
brick and white clapperboard:
the old custom house and post office,
academy and Captain George Scott House.
Rust and gold line sidewalks
pumpkins and potted marigolds
its trees are on fire with fall and rhetoric.
Across the narrow cobblestone divide
two classical houses face off in blue
and red, shouting into the vacuum:
A new way forward - We are not going back
I was indicted for you - MAGA against childless cat ladies.
The Atlantic and river mix, swell, both
conceal their intent to once again cross
channels at the swing of each tide.
*Abenaki for Wiscasset
