The Mother Warns of the Tornado
Scene: a bathtub, dry. The noise outside inaudible behind the baby’s wails.
I know I’ve already had more than I deserve.
These lungs that rise and fall without effort,
the husband who sets free house lizards,
this red-doored ranch, my mother on the phone,
the fact that I can eat anything—gouda, popcorn,
massaman curry—without worry. Sometimes
I feel like I’ve been overlooked. Checks
and balances, and I wait for the tally to be evened.
But I am a greedy son of a bitch, and there
I know we are kin. Tornado, this is my child.
Tornado, I won’t say I built him, but I am
his shelter. For months I buoyed him
in the ocean, on the highway; on crowded streets
I learned to walk with my elbows out.
And now he is here, and he is new, and he
is a small moon, an open face, a heart.
Tornado, I want more. Nothing is enough.
Nothing ever is. I will heed the warning
protocol, I will cover him with my body, I will
wait with mattress and flashlight,
but know this: If you come down here—
if you splinter your way through our pines,
if you suck the roof off this red-doored ranch,
if you reach out a smoky arm for my child—
I will turn hacksaw. I will turn grenade.
I will invent for you a throat and choke you.
I will find your stupid wicked whirling
head and cut it off. Do not test me.
If you come down here, I will teach you about
greed and hunger. I will slice you into palm-
sized gusts. Then I will feed you to yourself.
by Catherine Pierce
A poem by Catherine Pierce, adapted by Isaac Ravishanara for Motionpoems. motionpoems.org
A poem by: CATHERINE PIERCE
A film by: ISAAC RAVISHANKARA
Produced by: BENJAMIN WIESSNER
Executive Producer: TODD BOSS, EGG CREATIVE, and AMANDA MILLER
The mother: DIANNA MIRANDA
The son: GUS BUCK
Shot on location at the Fenton Family Farm
Edit by: ROCK PAPER SCISSORS
Editor: JAMIE FOORD
Assistant Editor: LAUREN DELLARA
Executive Producer: ANGELA DORIAN
Head of Production: LAUREN WILSON
VFX by: A52
2D VFX Artists: STEFAN GAILLOT, BRENDAN CROCKETT, RICHARD HIRST, and MICHAEL PLESCIA
3D VFX Artist: ANDY BYRNE
Colorist: PAUL YACONO
Producer: HEATHER JOHANN
Executive Producer: PATRICK NUGENT
Thank you:
ASHER BROWN, FRANK ANTONOFF, JIM CUMMINGS, MIKE FENTON, MEGAN FENTON, POLLUTION STUDIOS, ELIZABETH ROSE, DANNY MADDEN, TAYLOR COHEN, CHRISTOPHER SMITH, A.R. & ROCHELLE RAVISHANKARA
