THE BLACK CLOUD

The ears of the black cloud
dragged on the hairline of the earth.
she rumbled.
throwing her flashes of light
she growled at the world below.
the sweet smell of a freshly-bathed soil
penetrated the cotton fields
as rattlesnakes slid off their skins
beneath the cactus plants.

She threw more light.
with clenched fists she pounced the earth,
rumbled, screamed and howled at everything that moved
till exhausted she fell to silence.
the empathetic sun cuddled and comforted her to sleep.