IMOGENE’S NOTEBOOK
The Sky Is at War with the Earth
A poem of the Dakotas
The sky is at war with the earth, and the stars take cover behind clouds.
Lightning marbles the dusky sky above the Black Hills,
Or a single wall of yellow fills the space between two crags.
The detente between sky and earth has been shattered.
The thunder booms from the sky at the hills:
“This time — this time, I am knocking you flat!”
The hills shrug their stolid shoulders and reply:
“That may have worked for you in Iowa, but it’s not happening here.”
Or could the thunder be the voice of the hills answering the sky’s challenge
with a collective roar following each bolt of lightning?
The truth is, this is an old marriage, and nothing will be settled tonight,
And in the morning, it will be as if nothing happened.
Thank you for reading! This poem is in response to the “Starry Night” contest prompt from Debra G. Harman, MEd.
