SOU'EASTER

I watched the storm strut

On the sea’s edges,

At first far-off icy chops,

Chilly sprays,

Steered by a wind,

Once lord of freezing days

In Antarctica’s wild mounts and wedges.

That sou’easter blew the white water on

Towards the shore

Across the sapphire blues,

Then rain fell from skies blackened like a bruise,

As if morning’s warm sun had never shone.