Storm
Come…
The storm is always with us now
And visibility is poor,
While the world loses color,
While the gray rain blurs the lines between us,
I would meet with you
For one heartfelt honest moment
To stand together
Here,
Beside the unpaved roads of tomorrow
And listen beyond our human voice
To the Earth
As she quietly turns away,
and know it is time for us
to listen and decide
I would tell you
In these vague
Unraveling days of aftermath,
I have heard the wind speaking in tongues,
A presence
As restless as fire,
As sad and certain as the sea
Trying to make contact,
Straining to invade my sleep,
Straining to pierce the glaze of small talk
And endless cups of coffee,
Pressing up against the tedious rooms of my daily life
Where I am busy and working and busy and tired…
And yet, and even then
It would still reach into my heart
With its troubled language
To summon me towards perception
As if to say…Observe!
Behold the momentums of your history!
Bleak with the ghostlands of cities and forests,
Bleak with the trillion bitter choices
That have left you here
In the scorched air
And rusted meadows
Where thinning creatures come to bathe
Amidst the dying light
Have you wrestled with this too?
And somehow known
It was time for massive change,
Time for us to empty our pockets
Of all the angry coins:
Revenge and war,
Politics and greed
And stand outside the storyline
That holds us hostage,
Free to jettison its toxic prizes
And frantic hardware,
Free to stand simply again
United, still,
To fathom the enormity
Of who we truly are
And what we may have lost
I would go with you then
Out beyond the
Graveyards of the lost cities
To pause with you,
Pause and look up,
Up past skylines and fitful air,
Up where the unfinished night
Twists against the sky,
Where stars, like dice, are hurled
Against the mystery
And miracles are born
And squandered
And know
It is time for all the world
To stand together and feel the universe
Unfolding all around
And hear the streaming fingertips
Of light calling out
From galaxies far away
For us to look!
And be aware
That the great curvature of forces
Stands poised in fragile balance
Awaiting our decision
To listen and decide
In this time of rain
When seasons seem disfigured
The wind is loud and unrelenting,
Come from mountains
Come from mystery
Spreading out
Through star-struck sleepless nights
To prowl against our hearts
To speak to us in dreams
And wake us from this deadly sleep
And know
That the long arc of consequence
Has finally arrived
And chosen us
To be the final word
The last defense
To kneel down beside this wounded miracle
To listen and befriend
For the Earth is turning,
Turning back
Towards the terrifying beauty of creation
Where she was born,
Where all is still
And she will turn away from us forever
Unless we can decide,
HERE!
NOW!
With our backs against the void,
To begin again
With courage and with love
To undo what has been done
So come…
Come as close as you dare
And let us go together
The storm is always with us now
And visibility is poor
This is the time for vision
And there are those
Who do not see.
The poem and images and voice of Thomas Lane are striking in their beauty. My heart is beating with recognition of a soul brother. Thank you, Rhonda, for finding this treasure and sharing it with our Kosmos Community.
Greetings Nancy!
I just discovered your amazing comment about my Storm video. I sit back in my chair…shake my head in wonder, a loss for words.
In truth I’m moved by the whole cycle… entering the poetry contest, being rejected (which I agreed with) –– but so impressed by Carolyn Martin’s graceful handling that I somehow felt she would resonate with my video, so sent it to her –– not my usual style (passive/ambitious :-).
And then your beautiful follow-up note. Soulmates we are. And perhaps the story has more chapters. I may be doing business with John Raatz, whom you interviewed years ago. It just seems there is a lot of traffic flowing along the invisible highways these days –– awakening and repurposing.
Thanks again. It’s an honor to be connected….t
Magnificent!
Thank you Ross. So pleased my poem, Storm worked for you.
Wishing you peace & health…tom
I read your poem. Then watched the video. Intensely moving. Thank you.