TEMPEST

BY MARJORIE ARNETT

A dead calm afternoon.

Silence overflows with desire.

A tiny leaf quivers, one brushes another

warning of a breeze that conjures a storm.

Clouds begin to roll in, pile up

like sea foam building on a shore.

The air darkens, threatens as clouds

form an armada advancing on a plane of air.

Jags of lightning stage a wild unholy light.

Water pours from demon buckets.

Leaves rip off trees and the land

kneels down in disbelief.

The deluge continues then trails off.

Low riding afternoon sun filters onto land

with a promise of pale moon fragments

to mend and settle.

in response to COSMOS by Anne Emmancrelle Marpeau

Marjorie Arnett served as Dean, College of Fine Arts, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She lived in Anversa, Italy for a year on a painting residency, Porto, Portugal, a writing residency and New Delhi, India where she combined both painting and poetry in her work. She is a studio painter as well as a published playwright and poet. Marjorie was selected as one of Pennsylvania’s “Artists Who Make a Difference.” She now lives in Belfast, Maine.