Thunder groans over the horizon;
Sky is black over the prairie.
The waiting isn't quite over,
But the rain will fall down,
And wash us clean.
Time to head for Miami again:
Anna is getting lonely.
Time for going home;
It will be good.
I've waited
So long.
But there are mountains between:
High, steep, twisted curves,
Many hidden dangers,
And after that
The plains.
Lightning forks in the distance;
Forever is so far away,
Say the mournful
Horns of dread
In the air.
Spread the canvas roof above our heads;
Urge the white horses ever onward;
Press around the bends,
Up the hills toward
The next refuge.
My heart is bursting,
Longing, for
Peace.
Endless track to vanishing point,
Shouting, straining stack
Of speeding locomotive,
Mournful wail.
Swallowed all in mighty roaring tempest
Falling from the crashing clouds,
Lashing in its fury;
White-hot bolts.
But then
It's over, and
Smiling faces bubble
Among fields verdant with joy.
Birds sing
As firmament beams
With Heaven-sent light,
And all is right once more.
We walk at rest together,
In His love.
Author notes
Inspired by Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony, Pure Prairie League's performance of the song 'Harvest,' the Cloverleaf District of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, and a few other things. "Miami" does not refer to the city in Florida, but to the part of Ohio where my mom grew up, near Miamisburg, and the Little Miami River; Anna is the town where the family reunion was held, the third Sunday in July. I must say that the Rachmaninoff Second is far too rich in imagery to be fully captured by this short poem.
Comments
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'But the rain will fall down,
And wash us clean."
wonderful line. so sweet.
"Forever is so far away,
Say the mournful
Horns of dread
In the air." yes! i love the abstractness of this - the lightning could be saying anything, but to you it says one specific thing. this intensifies the emotion, yet puts it oddly far off because it's strictly a personal perception. through this effect, we feel the lonesomeness of the plains and your longing to be home. Excellent poem.
p.s. the subject touches me deeply. I've been thinking about Home too. I think it was a Lutheran magazine that instructed readers to spend some time longing for Heaven, imagining something so wonderful that we would forget everything bad. Thanks for this great piece of inspiration. :-)
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Thank you! The idea of the rain washing us clean is from the Pure Prairie League song (they're the only band I ever saw in concert twice--came from the Springfield, Illinois area). [If you see any typos in this, it is the kitten--he is far more fascinated with the computer than Mandy was--wants desperately to catch the cursor on the screen!] Yes--Heaven--Home--for me, never better described than in The Last Battle, the final Narnia book. But there are lots of images along the way--places and people that give us that feeling. In this poem, it's the relatives on my mom's side, in Ohio--for many years, the reunion was the third Sunday in July. I always looked forward to it so much--many memorable trips. That house in Kettlersville where my mom was born is still there, AFAIK--it was built and wired for electricity by my grandfather. And... you're welcome!
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Wow! That was incredibly inspirational imagery. And now you've witnessed inspirational allusion. :-P
Seriously, though, I loved the way you packed all those storm images into it. It didn't sound forced at all, which tends to be my issue when I'm trying to describe a scene.
I think one of my favorite parts of this was definitely the way you ended it. It still had a nature feel, but it was the more peaceful version of the weather. Your usage of the weather throughout it really carried the tone and mood of the poem.
Probably one of my many favorites of yours. :-)
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Thanks! Although several things influenced the creation of this poem, the Rachmaninoff CD was the biggest one--it was sort of hanging around in my car, and I started listening to it a lot.
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