A sudden blow
Abrupt reminder
That nature doesn’t
Indulge languorous
Episodes for long
But hurls herself
When she feels like it
Often with substantial impact.
In-between she strengthens us
And all there is
And then from time to time
She tests that strength.
She just gave a strong hint
Of what more she might have done
Had she been so inclined
But left us able to cope
And able to consider
The likelihood of further contests
Between her sprightly escapades
And her gracious gifts of life.
Indeed this blow is just part of
The ecology of places
We are fortunate to occupy.
It reminds us
That adaptation to place
Is a constant exercise
In observation and adjustment.
If more complacent
We have to rationalize the damage
And complain about what is
Beyond our control.
But with greater adaptive skills
The more vividly we can
Experience nature’s forces at work,
The more we can become true witnesses
And even participants
In the extraordinary processes of
Environmental flux,
Becoming the richer for it.
Aaltoe's Blog 
April 6, 2021 at 6:26 pm |
I love your perspective, and the observation that these are tests and chances for growth and even more exposure to the amazing power of unpredictable nature. Hurricanes in Miami used to feel like that, vast unpredictable power totally beyond human control, and integrated into the place we lived everyday and imagined we had power over to some extent, though when the storms hit we realized that was never true.
April 6, 2021 at 9:10 pm |
I appreciate the stanza with Vividly experiencing natures force at work and becoming participants. I keep my window cracked at night so the wind whistles into the night.