5
Drought's Break
The soil falls in a cloud of dust from his hand
As he looks wearily out over his dry land
Grass, dryer than dry
Crushes easily underfoot with each step
As he roams what remains of his dream.
His dams are just parched hollows,
Cracks splitting the earth in crazy patterns.
It's been years since he saw real rain...good rain...life giving rain.
His cattle and his crops are dead.
His sheep and his heart are dying
His way of life is gone.
He looks up at the near-empty sky, begging...
Praying....why?
A breeze picks up.
Clouds scurry by, empty,
Blocking the day's remaining sunlight
Creating strobing flickers of shadow and light.
His heart aches for the living rhythm that rain can bring.
Again, he asks....pleads.....why?
He pauses in his trek across his destroyed life
And rests on a fencepost that leans drunkenly.
What else is there?
What more has he to give to make the land live again?
If he could open his veins
And pour his own blood over the land
To bring forth life, he would.
He turns and heads back towards the homestead.
The dirt falls in a cloud of dry dust
Landing in a whisper upon the polished oak.
Dark clouds hurry across the sky.
As the mourners turn from the Farmer's grave,
The heavens open
And bring forth rain.
Angelspeak 16/3/2000
Miracles when angels speak
You hear their whispered call
They warn us of what lies ahead
When temples, churches, fall.
I weep for those who've never heard
The wisdom that they bring
Hard to fathom - but they speak to me
Of complex, yet simple things.
Loner
The fog blankets the streets
In tiers
Creating legless bodies
Strolling, stumbling, tumbling
In the night-light
Into their doorways
Their boxes
There is no sense of God here.
I shiver
And pull my coat closer
Seeking its meagre warmth
Wearing it more for security
Than comfort
Hiding me from the real world
Covering my glories
And my shames.
My Forgivenesses and unforgivenesses
Across the water, a foghorn blows
It breaks the silky silence
Softly....like a hope
Making me smile
For the first time in days
A sound that feels like me
Bleak at times - yet sturdy
Solid, like the faith I wish I had.
I know I need.
I turn the corner
To return to the false and empty warmth
Of home
The moon breaks through the mists
And shines a guiding light
Showing me my path