by Martin Bennett

A sea

of torn coastal plain

ripped apart by cotton

Moss unfurled

in waves crashing

into trees

Grey hues emerge

the grass, the moss

geriatric

…

Sitting out on her porch

a Grandmother knitting,

waiting

Her kids

like winter

never visit here enough

Martin Bennett was raised in Northeast Georgia in Mt. Airy, at the foothills of Appalachia, where his family has lived since at least 1818. He is a librarian and substitute teacher, having worked previously in film and theatre, and his previous work has been published in The Chestatee Review. This poem was inspired by a road trip through the Gulf Coastal Plain, from Athens, Georgia, to Austin, Texas. “On I-185 from Columbus to Montgomery, I became threadbare by the wondrous untamed natural scenery that I feel would be obscured by the view of Alabama by non-locals. This poem was written for them,” he says.