Tina Gross
​

WAYS TO GAUGE HOW WINDY IT IS

Look at a tree.
Are the branches moving?

Toss something light,
like a feather shuttlecock
or a crepe paper anemone
up in the air. (Not
directly over your head.)

Do you hear wind chimes?

Make an anemometer
out of five paper cups,
two straws, and a pencil.

Observe a flag.
How much does it flap?
How far does it extend?

Ask yourself,
if you needed to cast ashes
would today be a good day for that?

Are the watery tops of large breaking waves being blasted into spindrift?
Are there extensive linear foam streaks and airborne spray?

Use a portmanteau like
AccuWeather or Intellicast.

Turn yourself into a rainbow
windsock and see how it feels.

Take a breath and hold it.

---

--
Tina Gross lives on the Red River of the North in Moorhead, Minnesota and has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She sometimes writes experimental and found poems inspired by her work as a cataloging and metadata librarian. Her work has appeared in publications including Salamander, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Maudlin House, The Laurel Review, Rogue Agent, and Lost Pilots.

​​