CONFLICT

by Ed Matlack Ó 2003

Midday, the sky is black.
Swirling, mountainous clouds are tinged with violet and red.
Could it be that somewhere beyond, a great fire burns?
Lightening is flickering, the wind is howling,
Slashing at my body
Forcing me refuge behind a sand dune.

The storm creeps closer, clouds are heavy;
Swollen with rain, they merge with the horizon.
Ocean and sky become one—
Boundaryless and indistinguishable.
Not much is seen in the darkness,
As the sea is wrought full of whitecaps
From shore to horizon,
Being only splashes of color against the steel gray sky.

The storm arrives quickly, and at its full intensity,
Is unequaled in grandeur.
It obliterates the past and the future.
Explosions of thunder with ear-deafening resonance
Reverberates over the barren shore-scape
Driving rain pounds down relentlessly,
Torturing my face with what seems like thousands of needles;
But none of these actions of Nature frighten me
From my self-appointed task of observing
Nature in all its rage and fury.

Barely comprehending the unexplainable malevolence,
Nature’s ocean storm judges man—
And the judgment is not favorable.
The storms destruction capability cannot be equaled,
Not even by the combined forces
Of all mankind’s arsenal of weapons.
So how can the man-made barriers
Protect against the anger
And might of Nature’s power?

Are storms dangerous and threatening?
To some, yes, but to me,
It enhances the grace of the shore.
Beaches are cleaned, the air is crisp again—
A pleasure to see the storm come,
Sorrow to see it leave.
It is Nature’s broom,
Brushing impurities from the shore after
The forever inconsiderate raping by man.

The storm slowly blows out to sea—
I can now see all the wreckage left in its wake.
All said and done, this is an old story.
Man against Nature—who has won this time?
Is the victor Man;
Because he fought back the ravages of Nature?
Or is it Nature;
Because it left wreckage and turmoil in Man’s world?
Always the struggle continues.
Why cannot Man and Nature work as one . . .?


Edited by Bobbie Hess