Monsoon Moons

       Zala

Stanzas	6
Lines	7 = 42 lines/line
Syllable/Words	11 syllables
Rhymes
Repeat	Line 1 repeats sequentially (1, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41 or 42)

Monsoon Moons

1              The sun passes behind the clouds one more day.

                Each morning of July starts bright and sunny.

                High noon brings blue-gray clouds building all around.

                Closing in from all directions oppressively.

5              Mid-afternoon and the storms start their heralds;

                Thunder murmurs and yells across the landscape

                Depending on where the cells collide overhead.

                Cats are hiding under the furniture as

                The sun passes behind the clouds one more day.

10           Wind blows plastic cups off the kitchen counter

                Through the window left open to catch the breeze

                Which has been morphed into a swirling banshee.

                Step outside the door and you breath is ripped out,

                Leaving you with a gasping need for oxygen.

15           The air cools quickly and smells of hard blown rain.

                A deluge sweeps out across the high desert

                The sun passes behind the clouds one more day.

                Rain plunges through the sliding patio door

                Accidentally left open, carpet soaked.

20           The torrent ends as abruptly as it started,

                But it’s over too soon and the heat returns.

                An F0 tornado can be seen spiraling,

                Lightening flares around the white-blue-gray cycloid.

                Awesome to look at from five miles distance.

25           The sun passes behind the clouds one more day.

                More impressive than its’ dust devil cousins

                As a cyclone creates a distinct damage path

                That can be followed from up-well to dispersal.

                The thrill of monsoon rains fades as nights pass by.

30           Excitement replaced by predictability,

                Until the power is K.O.ed with no warning.

                Then life is plunged almost back to the stone-age.

                The sun passes behind the clouds one more day.

                Save the work you’re doing on your laptop

35           Before the battery has a chance to die.

               

                If you can attune yourself to Mother Earth

                The monsoon’s rhythms will bring you comfort.

                Eleven full moons have passed since last season,

                Thirty-ish days will end the present cycle.

40           The Indian summer nights will then commence.

                Children will be groaning as school starts again.

42           The sun passes behind the clouds one more day.

Beth Ellen Cook               

7-5-2011/7-10-2011