Ultraviolet Light
by Elaine Nussbaum

Lilac blossoms begin as purple pearls
and wisteria as fuzzy caterpillar-like
blossoms. It’s not because my spring
allergies are worse when it rains, it’s
because I put the store-bought green
onions on the black tile countertop
before they had been washed that
I developed this dry cough. Trump asks
the medical experts, as far as disinfectant…
is there a way we can do something like
that by injection inside or almost a cleaning…
The next day the Maryland Health Department
receives 100 calls asking if it is safe to ingest
disinfectant. Lysol issues a statement warning
against any internal use of their products.
Fuchsia-colored blooms explode today.
Could we hit the body with ultraviolet light?

Image by Stuart M. Buck

Elaine Nussbaum lives in Scappoose, Oregon, writing from a cabin surrounded by 3&1/2 acres of second growth forest. She holds a Certificate in Writing from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Boulder University (1986), and an MFA in Writing from Pacific University (2013). Her work has appeared in Poetry Seattle, Bombay Gin, The Sun, Spilt Infinitive, Louisiana Literature, Silk Road, and Thimbleberry. A chapbook of her work, Poems in the Key of D Flat was published by Overwrought Press in 1992, and a collection of her poetry, Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest was published by Finishing Line Press in September, 2019