word’s out
somewhere in Maine
Brood XIV

:::

ghost bike
at the intersection
sirens whir

:::

scenic overlook
not a single tick
in sight

Author’s Note:

Last summer there were rumors that Brood XIV was north of Baltimore and headed toward New England. Almost as if you could hear the meal mesh armor of the marching army. This year they worry about it as far as Aroostook County, the northernmost county in Maine. I don’t know if it resonates nationally but it was the talk of the town in my neck of the woods.

Publisher’s Note:

As described by Wikipedia, a ghost bike is a bicycle roadside memorial, placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by the driver of a motor vehicle. The first documented ghost-bike memorial appeared in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. As of 2017, more than 600 ghost bikes have appeared in 200+ locations throughout the world. (Link retrieved on 25 June 2025.)

Ron Scully

is a very retired bookseller. He practices haiku daily and has published widely in Japanese short-form journals. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational, the Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Awards, and the Trailblazer Awards for haikai and tanka. Half-a-dozen of his chapbooks have been published, including most recently Listening for Thirteen Blackbirds (Origami Poetry Project, 2022) and still lifes (Yavanika Press, 2021). His short-form collection master pieces was released by Yavanika Press in 2022. He is currently working on an anthology of sports literature.