West Wind

A poem offering a reflection on the sudden, powerful forces in nature and life that break and reshape, revealing new forms and unexpected strength.

Wind comes,
punching at gale force
from the west,  
no warning,  
grabbing hold of a seemingly stout tree,
splitting it open in an explosion of
trunk and branches that shatter outward,  
scattering like broken promises  
across an earth that shifts and sighs,  
pushing soil and leaves into new shapes  
around stones and stubborn roots.  

I watch, protected,  
eyes tracing the wild dance outside,  
thinking…
how life bends and breaks,
how storms have torn 
through my own days,  
scattering moments, 
changing the ground 
beneath my feet.  

I feel the restless breath  
that reshapes landscapes,  
inside and out,  
knowing growth often comes  
after sudden breaks and upheavals.

Outside, 
wind-bugles pierce the air,
a phalanx,
moving without mercy,  
a force too large to hold back,  
lifting dust and memories,  
spreading them thin over uneven ground.  

Inside, 
I trace patterns on the window,  
fingers smudging glass,  
blueprints of endurance,  
left by storms that came before,  
and those yet to arrive.  

I breathe in 
the tension of air,  
the way it pulls 
at loose edges,  
reminding me 
how sometimes breaking  
is just a beginning—  
a chance for 
new shapes to form,  
unexpected and wild.

Author’s Note

“West Wind” grew from watching a strong wind storm move through my rural neighborhood, toppling and shaking trees, lifting and shifting leaves, and rearranging the earth. I was struck by how something as natural as wind can be both destructive and creative at once. It tears things apart, but in doing so, it also changes the landscape, making room for something new.

My poem reflects on that idea through the image of a tree breaking in the wind as I observe the scene from inside. I wanted to explore how the forces outside—like the wind—can mirror the changes we go through in life. Sometimes we face moments that feel like sudden breaks or upheavals, moments that shift everything beneath us.

At the same time, these moments can lead to growth and new shapes, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first. This poem is about recognizing the power of change and finding strength in the way life reshapes us, often in unexpected ways.

Upcoming…

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