Grandkids of all ethnicities

can tell who and how

metal and men made

Dorothy Gale’s rainbow

across San Diego’s harbor.  

Old enough to hold history

young enough to play

both sides like a child

of divorce, loyal to both ports.

She joins and separates

workers, warriors, and

weekend photographers.

She raises her hem line

for a large barge and

slims her rims

for a more petite fleet.

Locals say that if you can hold

your breath from the top of

her arch to either side

a spirit can enter and ride.

———-
Jill Hawkins is a graduate student at the Red Earth MFA Creative Writing program in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She works as a deaf educator/ speech therapist at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf.

Photography by Kathy Rudin.