A Change in the Weather

it snowed yesterday

then there was a tornado

today it's 90 degrees

global warming?

maybe it's an act of God

maybe He's angry!

what if He's sent the rod?

maybe Jesus saves

weathered wanderers

of labyrinths

and quiet caves

all I know

is that tomorrow

I'm bringing

my umbrella

Author's Note

From a prompt in writer's group. Not my favorite piece.

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Despite global warming and an angry God, the humble umbrella stands us in good stead, weatherwise. Of course, that Noah episode would try the strongest umbrella, so maybe a handy lifeboat would be in order.

PS: Are you a descendant of The Great John L., who, as I recall, was also from Boston?

[Vol]

Probably... WE came over in 1779, I think... migrated through Virginia, and across the south...

[John Sullivan]

I am named after my father, who is named after his father... I thought my Granddad might be named after the boxer, but I looked it up, he's a Lawrence while we are Leonards. Grab the floaties. Many thanks, JtB

[emmajoygreen]

You took the prompt on both a theological and meteorological journey then.. turned the lot into comedy!

Can take or leave the weather queries! Either we humans took rather than gave what we should to our place in space or that very place decided to have its own back before we finished the job.

Whatever.. the sale of brollies, umbrellas and all else will give a few people a big profit before they are washed up once and for all!

[John Sullivan]

What in the devil are brollies? Speak English, Emma :P I kid, of course, we have taken from this planet, and profit margins rule the world. Thank you for your thoughts

[emmajoygreen]

Brollies = umbrellas!!!! Unlikely to have come from Latin or Greek, however. Know you're joking but - just saying.

[John Sullivan]

I was only joking, my friend. It's a fine word. Thanks for reading

[emmajoygreen]

'Couldn't think of the word 'colloquial' - duh!

[John Sullivan]

Ahahaha, another fine word.

[willweb]

The weather has been crazy lately, and by lately I mean that past 5 or 6 years it seems though I always wonder inside...does it do this in a certain pattern and in another 25 years it will be the same? Hell, got my umbrella.

[John Sullivan]

Last week it was 60 degrees, today it's snowing. Thanks for reading!

[Thomas W Case]

Great work. The weather is quite the force and constantly changing.

[John Sullivan]

Thank you so much! It was like 60 degrees on Saturday, now it's 20 something...

[Ken Simm.]

I do like the last cheeky line in this rant about what we can do nothing about and our excuses for doing just that. Excellent stuff.

[John Sullivan]

Ahaha, many thanks, Ken!

[Arundass TP]

maybe it's an act of God.
I think I don't want to blame God. These are all of CFC's emitted, and humans who lived hear are responsible.

In another way. God wants to make human cruel to earth. Then the statement is correct.

Good poem Sir, LOVED IT, READING

[John Sullivan]

You're much too kind good sir, thanks for reading!

[Stella Armour]

When i was a kid i was told that thunder was just God moving his furniture around .... no wonder so many of us thought religion was scary lol

[John Sullivan]

Thank you so much for reading, and your thoughts!

[Stella Armour]

You are welcome John ...

[Dave Brown]

"weather" or not it's your favourite, there is no dismissing the fact that things are getting testy

[John Sullivan]

Agreed. Thanks for reading!

[andrew mitchell]

Another fine write. The more we know about the universe from great minds of today through science the less dependent are we on religion which really in its day told people what to do because of the lack of scientific knowledge just star gazers. There’s no doubt that humans are contributing to altering weather patterns from productivity and clearing of land etc. and maybe, maybe the Earth is changing too.

[John Sullivan]

Thanks Andrew, and I agree, there's simply too much evidence to support the idea of mankind effected climate change. We've done a number to the planet.

[Vol]

John,
God made the rules and turned and turned everything loose. Whatever capricious events fly in the face of our expectations are what they are. We had a "blizzard" Monday night with temps in the twenties, and it is in the sixties today with sun. I posted a poem about this very thing a few days ago called Nihilistic."
We all have perfectly fine poems that "are not my favorite," but sometimes I get excellent reviews and comments on those very ones...
On any technical scale this poem is absolutely as good as Williams' "This is Just to Say," an as to subject and theme, I like it very much. I have long been aware of what the industrial revolution and technology have done to the human psyche. From Adam and Eve, or the first few who climbed down out of the trees, whichever, life was paced by our heartbeats and footsteps. We were so much more aware of our surroundings because we always had the time. There was no music until someone wandered by with an instrument and voice. Metal did not clang incessantly, few had a timepiece more complicated than the sun, and everyone slept well because they were more tired in their bodies than their minds. Are you aware of Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron?" Here's a link, if you are interested: https://archive.org/stream/HarrisonBergeron/Harrison%20Bergeron_djvu.txt There is so much sensory overload, we are ALL Harrison, these days.
Oh, and along with your umbrella, bring your towel...
Vol

[John Sullivan]

I'm very familiar with the Vonnegut, he's one of my favorite authors... Douglas Adams too for that matter. Absolutely wonderful comment Vol, thanks for your time and your thoughts!

[Vol]

I figured, but you never know these days...

[John Sullivan]

I read some of your other stuff, and some of your comments. I'm very fortunate to know a great many artistic people in my non-internet life. Poets, musician, painters, crafters... art... literature... music and poetry, these things will never die. I'm a young'un but I tell ya don't worry so much. We haven't made a dime doing it but the real artists are out there, every bit as obsessed and passionate as they can be. One of the perks of city living is the access to creative centers. The kids are alright!

[Vol]

John,
That is true. I moved from near Nashville to here, and I can attest to your words. I come from a family of artists, sculptors and painters, a little music... I am in an intellectual desert. Except for this site and one other.
What city do you call home?
Vol
Vol

[John Sullivan]

I am a short bus ride away from Providence, Rhode Island. I spent many a year of my younger years playing in bands on the local scene. Sadly, many clubs have closed, but there's still a vibrant music and poetry scene. I know many painters and crafters. I must say, I'm so grateful for the Cafe, it's like all the Internet's really talented writers decided to get together on one website by some curious happenstance. I'm glad you found a home here.

[Vol]

Thank you, John, Me too…

The problem in the arts is not due to quality so much as quantity… There are so many outlets on social media, we cannot see the forest for the trees EVERYONE thinks they can write poetry, but have no personal voice, no literary knowledge, and no ability to say anything important enough to publish.
In local venues, there are many who rival those in the textbooks I taught from. One of my students who moved to New Orleans is an example, you can check her out on Instagram as "theconstantpoet." She is young, but powerful.

The last post graduate Modern Poetry class I took featured a professor who was ready to leave the profession because no one reads poetry anymore. Not a universal failure, but enough of one that I cannot name a single living poet known to the general public, a new social phenomena in the English speaking world. No painters, philosophers, sculptors, or architects, either. We have become cultural Philistines. As I said before, in my lifetime there were popular artists in every genre instantly recognizable to almost everyone.

The thing I don’t understand is WHY no one reads poetry anymore? I mean it doesn’t require the attention span required for a meaningless romance novel and, can say as much in ten or twenty lines as a great literary tome.
Vol

[John Sullivan]

Hmm. You've given me much to think about. I agree about the local venues, I used to go to slam poetry readings regularly and enjoyed them very much. Same energy as a punk show, electric. Surprisingly good turnout, spoken word is surprisingly popular amongst the Black and Latino communities, at least that's been my experience downtown. Think of all the artists unappreciated in their lifetimes! Van Gogh comes to mind... poetry has always been a niche interest perhaps, at least as far as the twentieth century goes, we're a long way from the comedies and tragedies of the Greeks, or Shakespeare... I'm an active musician in addition to being a poet, the methods of distribution have changed but the art remains. It's all independent, grass-roots... local scenes do flourish and there is a market (I hate to use the word) for art still, it's just sort of like you said, the internet has knocked art off it's pillar perhaps, maybe it should be up there yet... I think it's good that anyone can digitally release a song or sign up for something like the Cafe. Granted, most of the poetry on the internet is terrible (except for the Cafe, what black magic conjured up this place) but the availabilty of expression, the... democratization of it(?) is only a good thing. Art will always be made, and people will always seek it out, I do believe that. Thanks for your thoughts Vol, you've given me much to think about. Cheers from a Yankee

[Vol]

Cheers, Yankee!
In the nineteenth century, and probably before, Poetry was a highly respected art. People then had SO MUCH TIME on their hands, and NO electronic distractions... When it got dark early, and they had any kind of mind at all, it needed feeding and so... Imagine a dimly lit room, a chair by the fire, and a book of poetry. You read a poem, sit back, think about it, go back and review, then think some more... Many poets had patrons who supplied them with room and board, or the poet wrote another volume anticipated by his followers and was able to make a living, pay some bills and be recognized by his or her peers... People dropped their names in conversation...

Finally, I really enjoy readings, but do not spoken word. For me, it is the meaning that counts rather than the performance... I've listened to a lot of spoken word and attended slams, but they all run together as a string of clever rhymes wrapped up in some sort of sermon or social complaint. It is important, and has a place, but it is not for me. I find so little imagery there, that I hesitate to even call it poetry. Novels are not poetry, short stories and essays are not poetry, spoken word should also be a genre unto itself.

I'm old, a child of the sixties, read my poetry publicly for the first time in 1968… I’m stuck in my ways!
In any case, I’m really having a good time here with you…
Vol

[John Sullivan]

You make an excellent point about the social/political nature of a lot of spoken word... the whole social justice thing is definitely a popular topic for the medium especially among the minority communities... and maybe fairly so. I hear what your saying about the difference between that and... poetry poetry. Image, metaphor... As a musician I'm currently working with this kid I met on the internet who sings, writes, and raps. He writes his own lyrics, which is awesome. I linked him my Cafe page just for kicks and he was like "your stuff is way more poetic than mine"... who knows? I've been a songwriter too and I'd say that's different than being a poet, a songwriter is so much more confined by meter and verse. It's gotta fit the music. Poetry itself is so much more... liberating. It's free-er. So long as the kids are puttin' pen to paper I'm happy. Though if you know a patron I'll certainly take one :p

[John Sullivan]

Oh, and I checked out Michelle Awad, she's good! Glad to see she's getting the success she is.

You're alright Vol Lindsey, for a Rebel anyways