By Katherine Gale
The wind catches your ear
Before it catches your eye
It leads you to feel
Then passes you by
Senses overcome
Thoughts interrupted
Bracing your mind
For emotions erupted
Not a wind chaser
Never will I be
So easy to get caught
In familiarity
A sense of belonging
The moment it arrives
Until I recall
It only passes by
With no hold
No ground
No structure
Just sound
A song that’s tickled my ear
Played with my hair
Danced through my mind
Not found everywhere
Sometimes it yields
Unpredictable gusts
They tear through my core
Stability busts
Broken branches and leaves
Scattered about
Damages done
Til the gusts settle out
Silence ensues
Absence with tension
Stillness in pain
Heart in suspension
No concern
No care
Just empty
Just air
I pull out the shrapnel
It falls on the ground
Attempt to ignore
How heavy its sound
Under the pain
Lie thoughts of the breeze
How kind it once was
As it danced with the leaves
When it carried the birds
And spread their sweet songs
Held them up high
Didn’t last very long
The breeze and the gust
Are one and the same
A selfish, one-way wind
That deflects any blame
It sings into my ear
The song of fear and hurt
It never hears itself
That’s not how this wind works
I’ve heard it before
And I must walk away
For I know in my heart
I don’t want it to stay.