and out across the water

darkness reigns, her cloak
drawn overhead, puffing out
the light, making us
feel small and ill, lights 
flicker intermittently
distance distorted by the mobile
air out there, shimmering, the
power to wink and waver,
generator unseen, unknown
by all the population
thunders on, resists the ground,
shakes the earth for miles around
but we don't hear the groan,
the damage done,
we want lights to light our town
light our feet on our way home
we do not hear the birds
with their absurd
song, unnecessary in our
necessary days
and so they phase us with
such tinkling bells, such
coloured toys we cannot hear
the noise of our own death
as all the generations
sigh as one
and hit the earth
face down.  The birds were
flying above it then
the day our cataclysm
came.

previous poem