Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Catastrophe
We await the path of the storm
We await the path of the storm
Thunder barks overhead like the dog
Next door. She’s up, wailing her grief
When no-one’s home
The evening groans on
Without lights, the kettle’s usurped for the gas’s
Slow metabolic rate
We don’t recognize the path of this cyclone
Never having one this far
Sporadic winds whip and the neighbour’s
Fence is no longer a division
The roads are physical coatings of debris
What turns up when the roof’s gone
How do I know such things?
Knowing is going back in time
To a transistor radio, a bite-size beginning
Shedding those hi-tech conventions
Rain enters like a stormtrooper and alarms
Flick on/ off, clocks tick, but time is soon
forgotten
It’s enough to know that a hot cocoa by candlelight
Will herald a woeful sleep
Waiting for the green party lights to blaze
All electrics on
2 comments:
Hi Helen,
You've really caught the feeling with this one. We lost our front fence on Sunday, so last night's storm brought with it more that a bit of trepidation about possible outcomes with more monster winds, but thankfully no further damage was done.
Hope you're okay with me tweeting this - I think so many people, people who never normally read poetry, will enjoy it.
Cheers, Bev
Thanks Bev, I really like that you are passing on my poem. I just use the blog for writing practice, but if I get great comments like yours, I'm really chuffed.
Re storm. Fences fell down between my two neighbours at the back, and luckily not on my side of the property. Monster winds, yes! I don't ever remember anything as strong, nor the amount of rain that bucketed down. Sunday looks like dry-out day! Cheers, Helen
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