Three Poems by Athanasia Pappas

CAUTIONS

This is Your Wake-up Call:
To Reduce the Risk of Fire use MAX 60 Watt Type A.
Don’t even think about trying a different bulb
Under Penalty of Law to Please
Read All Instructions,
All New Material.

Made in China.
Only Made in China.
Made in Canada for Buffalo.

Do Not Operate in the Presence
of Explosive and Flammable Fume.
This might include but is not limited to
Solvent, Paint Fumes, Farts, Hydrogen Cyanide, Nitrous Oxides.
Warning: Do Not Use Chlorine Based Cleaners or Bleach.
Do Not Use Outdoor, not for campfire sing-alongs or s’mores.
Above all, Do Not Defeat the Safety Purpose


Ice and Snow

The strangest thing was the ice storms,
snapping tree branches and power lines.
My brother and I try to sled
down our street
with green garbage can lids for sleds
and ice instead of snow.

We are not allowed to go outside
unless we are completely bundled up:
two layers of pants, sweaters, heavy jackets, mittens,
hats, scarves, and boots all stale from the cedar lined drawers.

Fifteen years later, I trudge through knee-deep snow.
Michigan has blizzards, not ice storms.
Sometimes, when I am alone,
the blanket of snow looks soft enough to nap on
if I just pause for a second on my long walk home.



First Sand

The hot, loose sand
littered with grass and fire ants,
terrifying creatures
out to bite our feet,
forcing us to run
for the water.

Now the water is in sight,
dark and rough.
The sand gets cooler
and darker the closer we get
to the edge of the ocean.

Here, there are crabs and broken shells
to fear in the little pools—
Our favorite time of the day when the tide is low,
and we each get a small ocean to rule over.

We aren’t allowed to go into the water above our chests.
Someone would always dive under to pinch feet-—Crab People.
Or a flipper on a foot was a shark’s fin.
I could sometimes find sharks’ teeth on the beach or
angel wings— small clams’ open shells.

At night there is the Grey Man,
a ghost story passed down to us.
Every night rainstorm,
I would lie awake,
petrified I would hear his knock,
scared to see his grey coat out the window
standing on the beach,
even though he didn’t mean any harm.


Athanasia Pappas received her BA in English and Modern Greek from the University of Michigan. She is a pretty cool chick.