Portent

Portent

 

A late afternoon thunderstorm,

with grey, black shaded clouds,

moves across the sky

as the trees sway awkwardly

in the gale-like winds;

and then it begins to rain.

A pounding, straight down pouring,

creating rivulets that flow through the yard

and rush to meet the rising creek.

 

As I sit on the back porch watching,

this natural display, while

overhead, a steady

rolling thunder sounds its anger.

Its continuous outrage,

chilling and ominous,

a portent of things to come.

 

As the rain begins to subside,

And the sky moves to a lighter grey,

off in the distance

a sudden CRACK

as light drops from the sky

two trees burst

and fall to the ground,

splintered.

Tall Oaks, part of a once proud forest

now cast aside by the angry storm;

a sign,

that our world and humanity,

can easily suffer the same fate.

 

Aztec Warrior/redzone 7.22.19

Author's Note

....thanks for reading

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

Such dark thoughts here....but then again a thunder storm can bring that on. Indeed, the strongest of us can be ripped apart in an instant. We must always heed the signs. Very "nice" my friend. Lydi**

[redzone]

yes, in an instant and unexpectedly too.... Lydi, I think these thunderstorms are very dark and happening way too often.... and Lydi I always enjoy your "nice" comments and your "nice" visits to my poems....

[KLMazon]

That is beautifully written. I'd say more, but honestly, it brought up some confusing feelings I can't process in a matter of seconds here.

[redzone]

first, thank you for your comment KL, it is appreciated... and second, that it makes you "feel", even if those feelings are confusing, then the poem has had and effect and that is one of the reasons I write... so again, thanks for sharing your thoughts....

[Sami Khalil]

I love the message here. As humans, we can see the signs, feel the effects and experience either the good or ominous things on the horizon. We need to be wary of the signs. Things might happen all of a sudden with no warning. Things in the distance will come close to our backyards. Marvelous Redzone.

[redzone]

thank you Sami, I am glad you understand....

[Sami Khalil]

Yep. And you are welcome sir.

[Relic]

It's getting dark, and there's thunder in the background as I write this. Our world is a fragile little ball in space. Each day I hear the threats and intimidation from one nation to another and I've grown numb to it being it is so frequent. As sting sang in his song 'Russians.' I hope the Russians love their children too. And that goes for the other nations as well.

[redzone]

thanks Relic for your words, nice that you stopped by...

[John the Baptist]

Very nice use of imagery. Made me feel I was watching the storm. Philosophically, the poem illuminates the impermanence of all physical life, including our species. Well done.
PS: Consider dropping the s from flows in the next to last line in verse 1 and the s from rushes in the next line.

[redzone]

ah those terrible S'es, they popup everywhere.... thanks for the really nice comment and the help with the 'S' problem, off to edit now....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, we can suffer the same fate...and i often wonder when what you describe here happens...is God really that mad at us? or is he just reminding us that he can destroy us in an instant...with one loud strike.
nice allegory here...
j.