Welcome! We are back for another OLN in our virtual pub of poetry. Mish here, happy to host and provide treats!

If you have not joined us before, this is an opportunity to share ONE poem with the dVerse community. There is no specific theme or poetic style required. You may wish to visit a prompt you missed before the summer break or use the optional mini-prompt below.

Many of us are into the full swing of summer. In my part of the world, we tend to savour every single moment of blue skies and sunshine. This type of weather can be short lived. There is nothing more peaceful than sitting on the beach with a book, a gentle breeze and the sound of Lake Huron lapping at the shoreline. However, I was reminded by a Filipino friend that for many countries in the world, this is the “rainy season”. In the Philippines, the arrival of the monsoon known as “habagat” is the first sign of the season, bringing heavy rain, high humidity, floods and landslides. Other countries experiencing similar conditions include India, Panama, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Although the monsoon season provides vital precipitation for agriculture and lowers sweltering temperatures, there are obvious downsides from mould to muddy mountain mudslides. With that said, I am grateful for the balance of clear skies and thunder storms, even if they send me scrambling to the basement.

Canadian poet, Archibald Lampman (1861-1899) born in Morpeth, Ontario eloquently describes the familiar.

A Thunderstorm

A moment the wild swallows like a flight
Of withered gust-caught leaves, serenely high,
Toss in the windrack up the muttering sky.
The leaves hang still. Above the weird twilight,
The hurrying centres of the storm unite
And spreading with huge trunk and rolling fringe,
Each wheeled upon its own tremendous hinge,
Tower darkening on. And now from heaven’s height,
With the long roar of elm-trees swept and swayed,
And pelted waters, on the vanished plain
Plunges the blast. Behind the wild white flash
That splits abroad the pealing thunder-crash,
Over bleared fields and gardens disarrayed,
Column on column comes the drenching rain.

www.allpoetry.com

Does your muse need a little nudge? Here is the optional mini-prompt.

1. Write from the image provided below.

OR

2. Use a single line from “A Thunderstorm” by Archibald Lampman within your poem. Please credit the author for the line.

Here’s how to join in:

• Write/share any ONE poem and post it to your blog or website.
• Click on Mr. Linky and add your name and direct url to your poem.
• Include on your page, a link to dVerse so others can find us.
• You will find links to other poets. Read and comment on their work.
• Enjoy!