Weather Poems

By Damon Zeus Pythias

Lightning

Great, bright agents of destruction tear through the air
Ready to strike you down
Strike you down DEAD
They are carriers of DOOM
Terror from up on high

The weapons of Thor, or so they say
Hurled at his foes in Jotunheim
But we’re not trolls, so why should we suffer?

They can kill you
End your life in a brilliant flash
An electric shock, magnified to an amazing degree
The bearers of light are bearers of death

I must run away
Run for shelter, run in terror
Run before one strikes me down
Strikes me down dead

Cloud Boycott (Summer 1999)

The sky remains bright and blue
With the mocking Sun in clear view
The clouds are held back, not daring to come around
And pour their life-giving fluid down to the ground

I think it’s some sort of cloud boycott
The rain gods have forsaken this land
And they refuse to tell us why
Do they have something unpleasant planned?

Rain birds refuse to grace this place
We see no trace of their mythical race
And the sheepskin belonging to Zeus
Doesn’t seem to be getting its share of use

Yes, it must be a cloud boycott
Even the thunder and lightning have gone
There are no storms, not even showers
And there’s hardly any green in the lawn

The gardens are dry
The fields are dry
The rivers are dry
The lakes are dry
Dry, dry, everything’s dry

Maybe we need some kind of dance
Will the clouds then give this place a chance?
There could be an end to the drought
If the clouds would come back, letting their burdens out

We need an end to the cloud boycott
Some relief from the light and the heat
Bring some moisture back to the land
And let farmers grow their corn and wheat

Please call off this cloud boycott

I Hate Ice

I hate ice
It makes walking a difficult task
It makes highways into hells on Earth
It makes ordinary towns into dangerous zones
Where slipping and sliding are matters of course

You fall
Down to the ground, then back on your feet
Only to fall down on the ground again
Losing your breath, breaking your bones
Travel is a chore when there’s ice around
And is it really worth it
To navigate on the ice?

I hate ice
Whether frozen on the ground or in the sky
On the sidewalk or in the street
On the grass or on the lake

I don’t want to walk on the ice
I don’t want to ride on the ice
I don’t want to slide on the ice
I don’t want to fall on the ice
I don’t want any more ice

Wind

It fills my body with energy, invigorating me
Yet it could also move a house or a tree
It’s the wind, that rush of air
It can be too strong to bear
Or it can be friendly or kind
Helping me to free my spirit and mind
It can blow in rain or snow
It can act as friend or foe

It’s the wind
Producing glee or panic
Propelling ships, or turning mills
Spinning ‘round and causing ills
From zephyrs to hurricanes
From tornadoes to breezes
Its forms are many; its effects can help or hurt
It can be gentle; it can be wild
It can fill you with life, or it can lead to your death

Temperature Changes

Oh, the temperature changes, why can’t they stop?
Can’t the weather decide how it wants to be?
Why must it be freezing cold one day, and warm the next?
Has it settled into winter, or is there still some fall left?
You can’t tell what morning will be like
When you live in a temperate zone
And the weather is in that indecisive state
Stuck between one season and another
It’s a constant source of mystery
Will I need my coat today?
Should I just wear a sweater instead?
Will I need to cover my head?
Or will a T-shirt be quite enough? To face the weather

The temperature changes are bad for my health
My body can’t adjust; it needs some consistency
This incessant switching back and forth
From hot to cold, from cold to hot
From snow to rain, from sun to sleet
Can only do harm to my poor body
Why can’t the weather just make up its mind?
Why the constant fluctuations?
I want some consistency
Not this state of uncertainty
About the weather

Snow

Ah, snow, the pleasure of children
It brings with it days home from school
And jolly times outside, with snowmen and snowballs
And whatever else can be made
From snow, the pleasure of children
That cold, white substance from the sky
That covers the fields in bright whiteness
(Or should that be white brightness?)
They say the Eskimos have many different words for it
(Or at least for the different types)

It’s a mixture of pleasure and pain
When I’m out in the snow
There’s the beauty of seeing the fields
In their shiny new clothes
But there’s also the horrible cold
Chilling my body, making me feel
That I want to get inside
Away from the horrible cold
That comes with
Snow, the pleasure of children
But pain if you’re in it for long

After the Rain Has Gone

After the rain has gone
After the storm has passed
And the world is damp and dreary
It still continues on

After the rain has gone,
The sun returns to rule
Shining his warming rays over his dominions
Filling his kingdom with light

After the rain has gone
After the clouds have left
There’s a sense of new beginnings
Of a world coming back to life

After sleeping in their shelters,
People come back to the streets
Their lethargy is at an end
It’s time to become active again
They rise out of their beds
And enter the outside world

The branches shed their wetness
The birds return to sing
There’s a sense of new life
Of a new world arriving
After the rain has gone

The Conquering Cold

Bundled in layers, I walk down the street
Wishing for some warmth
Strolling past frost-covered fields
I have to keep moving; to be still would just let
The cold take over

How I long to see
Jack Frost roasting on an open fire
The frost melting in a wonderful thaw
The end of the winter
The blossoming of spring

Yet winter will continue
Bringing ice and snow
And sleet, and frozen faces
And cold fingers and toes
Feeling so numb, like they don’t want to move
Yet my whole body must keep moving
In order to reach shelter from the paralyzing cold
That has conquered the land
And will continue its cruel rule
Until the coming of the savior, Spring

The Mists of Early Morning

The mists of early morning
Surround the town
As the sun begins its climb
Toward the apex of noon
At the top of the great blue dome

I might like to see them
More often than I do
But I sleep right through them
So I cannot feel
The glory of early morning
When the world starts to rise
Out of its nighttime slumber
In the mists of early morning

The mind is not yet clear
Like the day itself,
The mind is shrouded in mists
That come with coming out of bed
And trying to return the mind to consciousness
And entering the world, filled as it is
With the mists of early morning

The Last of the Weather Poems

I’m glad I don’t live in the desert,
Where it’s generally hot and dry
Or out in the Arctic,
Where the frigid chills are born

In the rain forests, it rains all the time
That is how they got their name
In California, they have earthquakes
Causing the land to split and shake

The weather is never perfect
No matter where you might live
The people are always complaining
It never seems to be good enough

I guess I’ve gotten used to the weather ‘round here
Although I might criticize it
It could always be better, but at least it’s familiar
And maybe that’s all we can ask

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