Mississippi Dirt Devils*

An innocent dirt devil
spins down the road;
reminiscent
of a more demonic
spinning
wind,
riding
on dark
thunderous
clouds;
a wind, like a giant finger,
tapping
out
devastation;
a bit here,
a bit there,
with
not a shred
of thought
given
to who your parents were,
but in the end,
it seems
that who your parents were
should not make a difference
to a dark spinning wind.

-Joy S. Barefoot, 2002

*a small “whirlwind” commonly seen in Mississippi
and the Midwest. It is similar to a tiny tornado.