TUESDAY: Snow in Orlando

BY WADE DeYOUNG

First published in Diagonals Literary Festival. Copyright is held by the author.

— after Sandra Simonds’ “Orlando”

If it could snow in Orlando.
Florida, America’s fruit basket,
main tourist attraction,
retirees’ and refugees’ refuge.
Florida, the Elephant Graveyard,
where old Republicans go
to die.
If it could snow in Orlando,
the cash cow might crash
like a comet.
Tourism might tumble
like a tumble-weed
or tank like a tanker.
The retirees might
retire to Rhode Island.
The orange orchards
would wither.
Farmers fearing the frost
would farm themselves
out to France.
If it could snow in Orlando.

***

Wade R. DeYoung was born and raised in Michigan, U.S. He has written numerous poems and short stories. He has published poems in 100subtexts, Fae Corps Inc Newsletter, Bewildering Stories, Diagonals Literary Festival, Children, Churches and Daddies, and Carmina and a short story in Diagonals Literary Festival. After 28 years, he retired from the U.S. Army as a captain and served as an aircraft armament mechanic, a recruiter, an environmental science officer, and an entomologist. He has a B.A. in English (creative writing track) from the University of Central Florida (2025), an M.S. in public health (medical zoology track) from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (2015), and a B.S. in zoology from Michigan State University (1991). He has two children, Ryan and Caitlin, who will be 29 in June.