Thunder!

Summary

The web content is a reflective piece that uses the metaphor of thunderclouds and blue skies to explore the themes of suffering, hope, and the balance of life's journey, culminating in a poetic response to a National Poetry Month prompt.

Abstract

The article titled "Thunder!" on the website is a contemplative exploration of the human experience, encapsulated in a poem consisting of two haikus and a tanka. It draws a parallel between the transient nature of weather patterns and the emotional states of human beings, suggesting that just as the sky transitions from cloudy to clear, individuals also navigate through periods of pain and wisdom. The author, Jenine Bsharah Baines, shares a personal connection to the color blue, associating it with stability and tranquility, despite the common use of 'the blues' to describe feelings of sadness. The piece is a contribution to the National Poetry Month Event, specifically in response to the prompt "Thunderclouds," and acknowledges the influence of other writers and the literary community in providing a platform for such musings.

Opinions

The author views suffering as a necessary teacher in life, leading to invaluable lessons.
There is an appreciation for the balance between light and darkness, pain and joy, as part of the human journey.
The color blue is seen as a symbol of positivity and tranquility, contrasting with its idiomatic association with sadness.
The article expresses gratitude towards the literary community for the inspiration and space to share personal reflections.
The author holds a fondness for observing the contrast between cloud cover and the blue sky from an airplane's perspective.
Readers are acknowledged as a source of support and positivity, likened to a cloudless blue sky.

Release those cumulus clouds

“You are the sky. Everything else — it’s just the weather.” Pema Chödrön A poem of two haikus and a tanka

Thunderclouds looming. What happened to the blue sky – release of world’s pain?

Inward tempests rage. Our cloud-shrouded hearts rain pearls – pain seeding wisdom.

Beauteous blue skies ceding to the ominous then, once anew, blue. A seesaw in pure balance to bless as we ride downward.

©Jenine Bsharah Baines 2021

Yeah, sigh. It’s suffering that teaches us our most invaluable lessons. Fortunately, however, hope, joy, and light await their cue to part the curtains of cloud cover.

It’s the reason I love — or loved, pre-Covid — to gaze out the window of planes as I flew above heavy cloud cover. All that blue!

Blue is my favorite color, symbolic of stability, honesty, truth, tranquility. The color of the ocean, bluebonnets, my grandson’s eyes.

Yet we feel the blues.

Yin. Yang. Yang. Yin. The seesaw of the Journey.

Speaking of journeys, it is National Poetry Month…and Literary Impulse has a month’s worth of prompts. This poem of two haikus/one tanka is in response to Day Two, “Thunderclouds.”

Thank you, Priyanka Srivastava, for the heads up. Thank you, Rahul Sharma, Somsubhra Banerjee, and Elisabeth Khan at Literary Impulse for graciously providing a home for my musings.

And thank you, dearest readers. You’re my cloudless blue sky.

Thunder!

Release those cumulus clouds

National Poetry Month Event

prompts for The National Poetry Month 2021 with Shabd Aaweg Review