Nature’s Fury
Thunder
so loud,
rafters
shook.
Lightning
piercing darkness.
Night
stretches on forever.
There
will be no sleep.
Wind
toppling mighty trees,
with
unabated breath
howling
across the land.
Restless
souls ache
with
a tiredness so deep
it
cries out for release.
A
weariness of mind
that
follows the storm,
questioning
the existence
of
what lays before one’s eyes.
A
path of destruction
strewn
near and far,
yet
the sun peeks through
blackened
clouds.
A
force beyond reckoning
stands
its ground
when
an angry nature breaks lose.
Heads
shake,
sighs
expel,
an
exhausted day drags on.
Heatwave
Daylight
shimmers on blacktop,
from
relentless summer heat.
Sultry
waves form mirages,
distorting
distant objects.
Steam
rises up from a far off marsh,
creating
a nightmarish fog.
Oppressive
days stretch
into
endless weeks.
Shade
sought as temperatures
reach
towards one hundred,
Burned
earth, withered vegetation,
torrid
air baking all it touches.
A
prayer goes up for rain,
with
no relief in sight.
Strangled
breaths struggle
in
stifling humidity.
Sweltering
restless nights,
while
a ceiling fan whirls on high speed.
Summer’s
punishment in full force,
in
the grips of a July heatwave.
After the Storm
Another
storm has passed,
the
sun shines once more.
Cards
hold an unknown future,
as
cast upon the floor.
Broken
tree branches
strewn
upon the ground,
like
many dying dreams,
scattered
all around.
Calm
has settled in,
Earth
breathes a deep sigh.
Peace
again restored,
as
rainbows fill the sky.
Ann Christine Tabaka
Ann Christine Tabaka was nominated for the
2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry, has been internationally published, and won
poetry awards from numerous publications. She lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and two cats.
Her most recent credits are: Ethos Literary Journal, North of Oxford, Pomona
Valley Review, Page & Spine, West Texas Literary Review, The Hungry
Chimera, Sheila-Na-Gig, Synchronized Chaos, Pangolin Review, Foliate Oak
Review, Better Than Starbucks!, The Write Launch, The Stray Branch, The
McKinley Review, Fourth & Sycamore.