tiny ashes falling
extinguished in my eye
inside on a cold day
my extremities frozen
cut off from civilization
this is all i can do
today the sea whipped up the foam
and the sky lashed the spray
and mixed it up with the hurtling rain
the moon pulled up the ocean
and the earth drank deep of its power
i watched from the safety of my mind
behind a wall of sleep
which was weatherproof
as the feeble milky sun tried to appear
the oceans colour changed from sombre metal grey
to an opaque creamy green
and the foam slid down the frozen waves
like in japanese paintings
gulls hovering in white silouhette
eternal day
stormheaded women hurrying home
their husbands blast them in bedrooms
their wrathful powerful men
decisive and unerring
farseeing and deepfeeling
moving towards them through cloudy dawn
holding them in strong golden arms
ever youthful
smelling of distant snows and lavender
tasting of vanilla and bitter coca
slaves to your love, one and all
like hounds on a trail
or runes carved in a dagger
certainty is their unifier
a quarry
a code
a signal in a wink
see daughters appear
flowing lovely lustrous locks
blonde and chestnut brown
go among mankind now
go out into this world
come fortune or disgrace
you must go
and i must relinquish you
as you vanish into the tossing churning leafy suburbs
as the windshields fog and the wipers swish
on afternoons like this when people lie in bed and weep
television lies dumb in yonder room
the storm has left the lines silent
the security cameras dead eye points at the sky unseeing
through a tiny porthole window i see the palms
beaten to a frenzy by the wind
metal shrieks out and stone groans
leaves and flowers fly through the air
gifts will arrive
wanted or not
children become more aware
beautiful children
and callow awful children
and children not really there
children who never grow up
locked in a game with made up rules
or lost in this lost afternoon
broken down in a broken down town
singing la la la to some melody
or deep in a library of talking books
listening to teacher and falling asleep
buses splash through puddles and the lights change
my eyes ache and the grey sky glares
trust me you dont know me
the bridge disappears into the storm
natalie says isnt this a hurricane?
no no sleep little duckling
we are safe
we are protected by poetry
and its umbrella
this world here is my world
look
i can make anything happen
except the storm
which is beyond my control temporarilly
i feel some huge titan is angry
i feel some deep sea monster is rising up
to strangle us in its coils
i feel the horizon collapse under the storms weight
the nucleus implodes and matter turns to dust
i have tampered with fate
i have ignited some fuse
i made some bargain
back then when i didnt understand
is this the result?
this dark day
this wild stupid afternoon
shaking its head all over the place
forcing us down
making us see
letting us breathe
its breath of fresh air
its promise of renewal
its threat of negation