Thoughts on a tornado

Who dreams up ways to wreak destruction

Upon our frail and mortal souls

Be it God, the Universe or Mother Nature

Are we but visitors on a planet that just naturally exists

Where phenomenons are a daily routine occurrence

Which disregards our trespass here

Thus tossing us along as mountains roar, thunder clashes

Storms funnel, twirl and lay waste to anything in its path

For first I perceived you

Then I tasted your approach upon the troubled wind

Mother nature; enraged, caressed my senses

Ere I knew what you could possibly be

The PA system screamed frantically to the aroused air

Jolting us savagely from our serene yet hurried reverie

Thus being unhappily apprised of the devastation yet to come

I comprehended and realized your fervor in the sandflakes

Which somehow arrived as forewarning upon the air

Sandpapered grains of dust flew to lips and nostrils

Taste me, smell me! they shouted disdainfully

Taste deeply of that which is yet to come

I waited with bated breath, hoping for change upon the wind

That's when I saw you

Way over yonder, beyond the fields, approaching as if in slow motion

A deadly movie being watched upon an unreal screen

I squinted my eyes to see you

From earth to sky you spiraled and funneled

Closer, closer you drew to unwelcome terror and fear

We hid as best we could

We cowered amidst tears, prayers and supplication

Supplication and hope for mercy

Falling from lips which in time past denied the existence

Of an unseen yet caring God

The lips and hearts which now call upon this God

To spare our miserable lives so we can live to believe

And so become better versions of ourselves

Swear allegiance to goodness and piety in time to come

Still advancing, you barreled onwards

Without care for the hypocrite buried deep within our lying lips

For we long ago had lost our faith in higher entities

Whom we had from time begun, called upon for help and aid

Help us, save us. There was no answer forthcoming

Caring not for the destruction and loss of life

No help, no celestial intervention came nigh

In the near distance, I heard your dissonant bellow

Like wind trapped within a ghostly well, deep, deep

Within the fiery depths of Hell

From which there was no escape

You descended upon us

With all the might of an enraged Heaven and Hell combined

We could not then deny your touch

As fire, rain, wind and terrible force consumed the land

Like a freight train you barreled into our lives

Ripping the roofs off the tops of our puny houses

Uprooting trees, flattening the beauty that once was

Animals, cattle, cars, trucks, everything paid a precious price

As people, things and landscape vanished within

Your angry, boiling, torrid and fearsome might

We cowered, we prayed, we cursed and we asked 'why us'

We waited, seemed like an eternity

Then; slowly, the sounds began to fade

As you moved to more fertile grounds of fresh destruction

We waited, then

Slowly we emerged from our various hiding places

Like butterflies emerging from their uncertain cocoons

Tears of happiness for life we shed, tears of grief for the loss

Scattered upon a landscape of broken hopes and dreams

The smell upon the air changed to a soft sulfurous blend

As you raged and roared, leaving broken hearts in your wake

Rising, rising with your treasure trove of gathered trophies

Spitting them out here, there and everywhere, still you raged

Still you shrieked, screamed, roared and howled

Upon the open field, we heard sounds akin to a waterfall

How could devastation sound so much like a lovely thing

We heard you

While you were crushing our hopes and dreams

Upon the blackened bodies of your victims, sulfur magnified

After the storm had passed, the air you saturated with ozone

To such a degree that even the small, the young, noticed it's stink

You were aptly compared to the odor

Of burning brimstone and burning matchsticks of hellfire

Upon our knees we fell

Those who were prayerful, prayed, some howled in pain

Others vociferated and cursed

Still others dug through the rubble for signs of life

As you again departed beyond the horizon

We knew that we would bury our dead and rebuild

Some would stubbornly remain and defy the odds

Some would opt for greener pastures

Others would continue the fight in their own unique ways

Are we not made in the image of God, we ask

Why then do we suffer such atrocities beyond that which we can bear

Tis an age old question

I have not the answer

Life continues beyond hurt and pain

Beyond the broken hearts and wanton waste

Be strong, survive and persevere

Life hurts, but

Still there is beauty in every aspect of our existence

Even in the conceived derailment of our innate senses

Seek the truth and beauty in everything.