Slowmo Tornado

(The relentlessness of life's tragedies)

I knew it was coming
There was warning
We were told the clouds were coming
We stocked up
    I loaded up the bunker and went for a stroll

The last one clawed its way through
    with red eye malice
Talons shredding and shrieking
Oh yes, we heard it coming
But it was darker and meaner
No glimmer of mercy as it thrashed from side to side
Shattering the fragile colours
    the textures, scents, joys
And the lies too
    facades, stuff
All of it

Slowmo tornado

Why do I stay in this land - this tornado belt?
Why do I go back out to look at the devastation?
Why do I rebuild and replant?
Knowing...

Slowly it reaches you
Feet paralysed, staring into wind -
There it is - that feeling,
    weightless, spinning,
    slowly spinning
Watching as the flowers are pulled from the ground
    flailing in the wind with a life of their own

On it goes, and on, in unstoppable slow motion
Until it drops its load
    and I'm left lying in debris, again

No happy ending, no escape
But in the end, its gentle,
In the wind is the peace
Not one broken bone!
Just exhaustion
    rest
    sleep
    new day
    sunshine