How many times have we passed this exit?
Weehawken on the New Jersey turnpike?
Probably hundreds.
But yesterday, we stopped the night
en route to Cape Cod.
Spectacular leafy walkways along a sparkling Hudson.
Ferry docks galore for passenger drop-offs, pick-ups.
Barges, sailboats, fishing craft.
A restaurant at the end of the pier.
Akakakaaa shrieks from morning gulls.
Those graceful gliders, perchers on pilings.
Countless hotel rooms, apartments, condos, office buildings.
A silhouette of Manhattan across the river.
Space for breath especially in homes atop the Palisades.
Too bad a hurricane hovers in the forecast.
For idyllic, peaceful Weehawken.
And for us, who head tomorrow to Wellfleet.
Nature sounds the alarm yet again.
The message seems clear.
Or it is more a question?
Is a tropical storm really barreling toward points north?
Something seems terribly awry.
Beach roses, hydrangeas, maples, honey locusts
bow heads.
All about to cry.
Collectively, they sigh.
Confused, maybe betrayed,
they whisper: Why?
Lynn Benjamin
August 21, 2021
