we trash the air

extreme weather

we humans like to project ourselves onto the world,

and then see ourselves in what’s out there,

we anthropomorphize and see a storm as rage,

here at the North Carolina beach today,

the wind is out of control, ferocious,

whipping leaves and sand into cowering submission,

forcing the birds into self-saving shortcuts in the air,

as each has to bend its will to fit the will of the wind,

the wind froths the waves white,

the ocean not yet welcoming, 

rather, it seems angry,

such wind has also recently wreaked havoc on the mountains,

broken trees as if they were but matchsticks

held by an impatient capricious self,

maybe we should see ourselves in nature’s increasing unpredictability,

for we dump our excess carbon dioxide willy-nilly into the air,

and many do not even wonder if the world will react,

it seems it does, and it reacts like a human,

mad to receive such an unwanted gift,

prodded and provoked, nature responds with extreme weather,

maybe we need to consider nature as an equal, not as a servant,

and anthropomorphize into understanding that we transgress,

and a price must be paid.

by Henry H. Walker

May 5, ‘17