by Timothy Norton
This article is featured in the Autumn 2015 issue of The Wayfarer (Vol 4 Issue 2)
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I wonder why people ask about the weather;
Or if a landscape is beautiful.
The answer is always apparent,
And it is always.
When the land resists the push
It buckles up miles high to be seen
And to oversee anything with eyes.
Sometimes the forest is lush, sometimes bare.
Paths meander across the floor. One could take you
Where you don’t want to go, but you might
Enjoy the trip and the trees will protect you from the sun.
When the land is worn away
For many, many years by an unyielding current,
Laying there exposed and ambivalent, is a canyon.
The desert is something to behold.
It bakes under the unrelenting sun,
But the land is golden there
And the elements found there are purest.
A glacier is massive and domineering
As it makes its way through the mountains,
But when it arrives at its destination
It brings things it carried along the way
And melts into a lake, soon to teem with life.
When the ground shakes, it is a warning.
The land opens up and swallows, shakes and shatters
Anything above it; lava consumes any obstruction.
But afterwards there is a fresh landscape
That will bloom again.
Water carelessly tumbles from a waterfall,
But it rises up after it hits the rocks
And goes gently on.
The ocean. You can bathe in the ocean;
You can fish and swim, ride waves, sail,
And when you look into the ocean, you will see yourself.
Most people check the weather every day.
Maybe it is to see if the sky will fall
Or if it opens itself up to the stars.
If you don’t check, you might not know the forecast.
There is one thing in nature that can only
Be seen indirectly. If you look at the sun
You will never be able to see anything else.
In people, these marvels are less obvious, but they are there.
Tim Norton received a minor in creative writing at the George Washington University and was taught by Tony Hoagland and David MacEleavey among others. He has been writing creatively since elementary school as a mind-freeing exercise and he has developed it over many years into adulthood. He would like to make a connection with readers and engage in a meditative dialogue that discusses both the lighter and darker parts of humanity.
