The Dirty Side

(after Martha Serpas)

by J. Bruce Fuller

On the northeast side of the storm,
the dirty side,
the push-water side,
the muck in the floorboards
side of the storm,
where the dogs swim
from the alligators on the sidewalk
side of the storm,
the boat in the yard side,
the cat in the palm tree side of the storm, the side where the pirogues
replace the cars in the streets
side of the storm,
the side that blows east and then west
and then stops when the water is at the door
side of the storm.

J. Bruce Fuller was born in the piney woods of Louisiana, and currently lives in Lake Charles, LA, with his wife and two children. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Louisiana Review, Lilliput Review, and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. He is a MFA Candidate in poetry at McNeese State University.