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Raging
by ryall Thursday, Jul 23 2015, 7:38am
international / poetry / post

the sea rages tonight
colliding with ferocity
against the shore that obstructs
its course,
rocky barriers
shoot waves skyward
releasing spray
that drenches my face
and salts my lips --
yet of its own accord
the sea remains calm,
the enormous energy it releases
is the result of external forces
acting on it;
the sea in essence
is imperturbable
though its appearance deceives
the desensitised and unthinking,
appearances always deceive
quite reflection reveals much

i scream against the wind
responding to the night
yet my scream is lost to the mighty
roar,
no man or beast is able
to compete with the forces of nature

a seabird dislodged from its shelter
twists and turns in the buffeting wind
crying yet instinctively
finds a course with subtle twists
of its wings and turns
of its body
to eventually return
to the safety of the cliffs

i marvel that no civilised human,
abruptly faced with death or crisis
is able to react so perfectly
to the forces that prevail against it,
the instant reaction of a bird's brain
and body put all man’s achievements
to shame

my arrogance and pride draw me
closer to the edge of the cliff
fighting the headwind
with every step
not fully sensitive to its random directions
i reach the precarious edge
as i do the headwind ceases
and instantly changes direction
my forward force and the wind-burst
from behind sees me easily plummet off
the edge to my death.