Douglas Richardson

Orange County Poem


Sunrise over Santiago Peak
new light fills the valley

down below
the Santa Anas blow
over the Tigris and Euphrates

Sunrise over Santiago Peak
nuclear war on the horizon

down below
the laughing drifter knows

he’s chasing the coyotes



Douglas Richardson is a poet and novelist who resides in Santa Ana, California, with his wife, Jen. He is the founder of Weak Creature Press. He has been published in a few literary journals over the years, including Straight Forward Poetry, The Nervous Breakdown, and Poetry Super Highway. In 2013, he won the Poetry Super Highway contest with his entry, “Notes from the Graveyard Shift.”