Wasco Wind Farm

surreal sentinels
faceless worshippers of the wind
it’s an army of whirlybirds
sleeping in the sun

the windmills of our childhood
were tall wooden contraptions
like erector sets with tinkertoy sails

we climbed them till our dad shouted
GET OFF THAT WINDMILL
morning glories climbed its legs, too
the paint was gray and peeling

now, in an Oregon wheatfield
the wind starts the towers spinning
power to run our homes and lives
they make a low, soft sound
kind of a hum

it could be music, but
it isnt

Diane Allen is a retired history professor, poet, violinist and pianist who lives in White Salmon. She has organized poetry and other literary readings for the White Salmon library, including the William Stafford Memorials. Her poem ‘st patricks day at the vets home’ won the Wordstock Poetry Challenge in 2005.Diane has published in the local press – Hood River News and White Salmon Enterprise. Her poem ‘Kneeling at Ken Kesey’s Statue’ was published in a left-wing rag in Portland.