Before the Calm
There charged the air from mountain's top-
There charged the air from mountain's top-
Sharp light in darkness cast
Grim shadows from the tallest look
Upon the wild past-
There arched white fire's vengeance down-
To flash and render blind
Those whose eyes closed long enough
To keep it from the mind-
There toppled majesties of time
By howls of wild delight-
The clamor nearly tore the Earth
And scarred the face of night-
Then, calm, the atmosphere, sublime-
Called frightened life to rise
Its anger, satisfied tonight,
Dissolved from leaden skies.
• I wrote the above sometime in 1998, with the intention of mimicking a writing style of my obsession at the time (Emily Dickinson). Of course, I titled it, which goes against her style; try to ignore that. I found it while digging through my Archive folder, time-worn and forgotten.