I’ve been working on

naming the winds

for sometimes it seems

wind is the only weather left

perhaps in its naming

we can come to understand it

come to recognize it

for there are many winds

which roar over us

through the pines

they are our neighbors

as much as any other thing here

maybe if we come to know them

we can live with them better

and so I’ve tried to work

on recognizing them

one I’ve come to know

is the wind that breaks signs

wind that rips green metal

from its poles

wind that takes the names

of the places we live

takes the names of roads

and towns and mountains

and disappears them

into the woods

bends them beyond recognition

the wind that takes our names

perhaps until we honor it

with its own

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an  award-winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more  information about him at  alexandershalomjoseph.com.