In Florida the ground doesn't rise to meet the sky
no cliffs overlook the sea
barely a change in landscape
except the burial grounds paved over
to make room for the cemeteries
of those who come here to
pass.

Flat as a plain,
hurricanes can rip apart
homes and condominiums
and steal the sand
pumped on the beaches to keep them
white as bone.
washing away our filth
spreading red tide.

but during the summer,
when you can
forget all of this,
our clouds billow up
thousands of miles high
lightning their crown and thunder
their trumpets
heralding a sudden downpour.

we get a new mountain everyday. shifting
into new forms of heaven
wild
unbound by property legislation
separate from silent segregation of these
southern cities.
un-phased by the shutters on the windows
of the beach homes
owned by those who visit in passing,
when convenient.

a glimpse of these peaks
sends me a smile
driving into downtown
no matter how weary

here's a secret locals know
sunsets are more beautiful
when you look away
from the horizon.
(the only western water sunset
on the east coast!- only $200 a night!)

at the colors cascading
through the
endless bounds of
the clouds.