Tipton Poetry Journal – Spring 2022
Alternate Universe Rose Bromberg (for Teddy, 2021)
In the news, eight are killed in Indianapolis when a gunman opens fire in a FedEx facility before turning the gun on himself. The coronavirus rages in Michigan, multiple cases and hospitalizations daily — some of the worst outbreaks in the nation. My grandnephew is not yet three. His bevy of blond curls bounce as he runs barefoot, back and forth from one side of the patio to the other sings ‘choo-choo’ … ‘choo-choo’, croons to the shrill sound of an imaginary whistle pulls the emergency cord on his imaginary train forces a full stop in the middle of Anywhere, U.S.A. — oblivious to family and the world around him. The day begins to vanish. I see only shrinking light from sun, moon rising as Earth continues its daily spin under sky. Rose Bromberg is the author of two poetry chapbooks whose themes span the world of nature and the field of medicine: The Language of Seasons (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and Poemedica (Finishing Line Press, 2011), which was a finalist in FLP’s Poetry Chapbook Competition. Rose is a Pushcart Prize nominee and her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies such as RUNE (The MIT Journal of Arts and Letters), Medscape J Med., Bridges, Southern Indiana Review, Tipton Poetry Journal, rock & sling and elsewhere. She lives in Florida.
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