Australiana #21: The Storm's Coming

On November 27, Brisbane was hit by a cyclone, the worst in 30 years causing as estimated damage of A$ 200 million. We had no power for 24 hours and the city was littered with fallen trees and broken roofs. I wrote this poem:

The Storm's Coming

From my balcony

I capture a picture,

gold and red,

the shades of sunset.

I bask in the fading light

as day turns to night.

I watch the horizon,

the lamps' incandescence.

On the east I see,

a black haze

smoke, dust

or clouds maybe.

Like an invading army,

their pace quickens,

the sun disappears

darkness descends.

Then comes the wind

speeding and howling,

sends out a warning:

The storm's coming.

The gusts, the rain,

I watch curiously

till a ball of ice

falls by my side.

Nature smiles

a knowing smile,

a crooked smile,

a devious smile.

She pelts me with hail,

breaks the glass;

a deafening noise

I cower, I shudder.

The storm's come,

the trees have fallen,

the roofs have blown,

the cables broken.

In the darkness,

the damp and heat

I sit and wait,

hold my breath.

The storm blows over,

a city destroyed.

How many more

will Nature conquer?

TV crews and reporters,

bloggers and scribes,

broken homes and spirits,

they describe.

As night turns to day,

a male bowerbird

surveys the damage,

Nature's rampage.

In his tiny beak

he carries with care

a glass, a brush,

a straw, a screw.

He builds his bower

with care and precision,

hopes a mate will come

and make a decision.

I find the bird's bower,

the glass, the brush,

the straw, the screw,

a picture, pretty and new.

- Eisha

Brisbane-based artist Jane James has spent two years researching bowerbirds in Australia and Papua New Guinea and come up with a series of awe-inspiring artworks. Check out her works on janejames.com.au