The Red Umbrella

 

The air sighed heavily

Whistling a song of chaos

As it trampled upon

The withering grass.

 

The rain furiously narrated

Sonnets of despair

As it fell in great sheets

Across the field.

 

I have always loved the wind,

I have always cherished

Its lullabies.

 

And I have always loved the rain,

I have always listened

To its verses.

 

But… Did I anger them?

 

I held on to my red umbrella,

The only thing that kept me

Safe from the wrath

Of wind and water that day.

 

Suddenly, the wind gushed

Through my fingers

And the red umbrella floated

Through the black rain.

 

In the middle of the grassland,

I was left shivering and drenched

In tears of the nimbus

And tears from my own eyes.

 

I have always loved the red umbrella.

 

In its silence, its hue spoke

Of the sweetest poetry

When my heart longed for it,

And uttered out its misery

When I was the only one

Who could listen.

 

It spoke of secrets never told

To the rest of the world

For it knew that only I

Could have understood.

 

It was the only thing that kept me

Safe from the wrath

Of wind and water that day.

 

I still wait for the red umbrella

Maybe someday, the wind

Shall carry it back to me.

 

Maybe I can take hold of it again

One sweet rainy day,

One sweet windy day,

And perhaps the red umbrella

Won’t go away.

 

 

© Maxinne Marie

Reviews

[Sarah Williams]

I truly enjoyed the story told in this piece. Sometimes things that we love, things that we've always been comfortable with, turn on us and score our hearts...but hearts heal, faster than our minds allow them to really. There are many wonderful and stark images in this piece, the idea of the "red" umbrella against the black and forbidding sky is quite nice...reminds me of Coleridge and his use of the color "red" in many of his pieces.

Mechanically...I think there were places where this could have flowed better (particularly stanzas 1, 6, 8 and 9). Overall, though, I really liked reading this!

In tears of the nimbus
And tears from my own eyes.

--I like these lines...interesting imagery!

[Bubo]

I still wait for the red umbrella
Maybe someday, the wind
Shall carry it back to me.

What beautiful imagary, the elements mixed with the emotions, and in the middle a vivid red umbrella, which I could see in my mind being ripped from your hand.
You have a unique style of writing that I really enjoyed.

In tears of the nimbus
And tears from my own eyes.

Wonderful flow and depth.......
I love that line.

[Crystal Elisa]

it is slightly Coleridge-like but maybe alittle more like Hardy in it's lightness- Coleridges pieces are much heavier that this...but it definitely had a beauty to it.

I have always loved the wind,
I have always cherished
Its lullabies.

And I have always loved the rain,
I have always listened
To its verses.

thats the best part!

CE