The thunder clouds are dark'ning
the hazy sky of blue,
And the gentle wind now murmurs
and whips up the gloomy brew.
The leaves are rustling, restless,
watching for the coming rain
That will rip holes through the canopy
and splatter on the pane.
Is it just an empty warning?
The clouds looming in the sky?
Wind whipping through the treetops,
rumbling as it passes by?
Or will it really start to pour down
When the wind and clouds collide?
When the thunder growls defiance
and the trees shake side to side?
I cannot see the sunlight,
the sudden darkness grows,
and I'm running for the porch now,
It's the moment nature chose.

A Swift Summer Storm

If I had no place else to go while yet the rain is pouring down,
If I had naught else still to do but watch the clear horizon drown,
Then I would sit here all the hour in the shade of sturdy beam,
Then I would watch the lightning flash and hear the thunder in my dream.
If I could stay so still that only howling gale would know my place,
And use the ever-failing light to watch the dark clouds swiftly race,
Then I would know what little time I had, when all is said and done,
To see the storm clouds roll way, and raise my hands to catch the sun.

Waiting for Summer

I am waiting on the summer,
On the slow and shining dawn
That peeks above the green hills
And splays shadows on the lawn.
I am waiting on the cool breeze
That brings hints of new cut grass
And that murmurs oh so softly
Over placid lakes of glass.
I am waiting on the shadows
That dance in front of me
As they live life to the fullest
Before they have to flee.
I am waiting for the twilight
Where there is no need to fear,
Where the fireflies are blinking,
Some are far and some are near.
I am waiting on the darkness,
Of the cool grass and the dew,
And the moon that shines so brightly
Over me and over you.

Can a person drown in diamonds

That are falling from the sky?

Can I lose myself inside them

As their shining forms go by?

Are there worlds inside the gemstones

That reflect reality?

Or is each new lustrous drop

A symbol of mortality?

Is it possible to catch them

in my pale and trembling hands?

Can I gaze at the reflection

And the shifting rainbow bands?

I wish that I could solve the mysteries

In these shimmering, silver spheres,

Though all I see now is the gleaming

Of the heavens' crystal tears.

English Class

I cannot see the sunlight,
The window blind is down,
And we are past the hour
with the shadowless noon crown.
And though the sun is seeping in
beside the plastic white,
I cannot see the clear blue sky
or gaze upon the light.
The room is filled with questing words
That bounce up off the wall,
but I can hear no sentence but
the warming daylight's call.
I know that I should listen and
take heed of things now said,
but I would rather run and see
the world 'til sun turns red.

I wish I could remain here
In the shining, golden sun,
In the warming rays it stretches
out until the day is done.
I wish that I could follow to
beyond the shifting sea,
could cast away my worries
And let the sunlight pour o'er me.
Yet the shimmering sun is setting and
the night is drawing on,
So I will have to wait until
again the sun, bright, dawns.

Carry on, my fairest sunbeam,
pray and come caress my skin!
Not often have I seen you, lately,
Since the winter settled in!
Come and rest beside me, sunbeam,
warm the eyelids on my face,
Show me what you've seen in travels,
in some far off, sunny place.
Were the islands warm and sandy?
Were the palm trees lush and green?
Did the desert diamonds sparkle
and the ocean waters gleam?
Did you greet the winging swallows
and the geese that flew so far?
Did you smile at the fishes
Resting on the gold sandbar?
Tell me sunbeam, tell me truly,
What the summer has in store!
Tell me of the yellow noontimes
And of the golden days once more!

The bitter wind blows, cutting
through the the coats and gloves and skin,
The winter sunlight wavers,
What could it do to win?
The window gathers sunbeams
with its clear, inviting panes,
and tinkles with the knocking
of the slightly frozen rain.
Both the freezing rain and sunlight
Are here this afternoon
Though soon the sun will sink away
And pools reflect the moon.