Weather of a May Afternoon

First the sun decides to shine
And warm the wintered earth
Then comes the wind, with foul
Caresses and makes the clouds fall in.
Shade and shadows drift lazily
Across the wide landscape pasture
The rains fall down, the air grows cool
And the sun is veiled from the earth
While puddles form on concrete
Then gone again are clouds and rain
The whispers of sunlight leaking down
Between the gaps and holes in clouds
And summer threatens to come once more
But hope not yet in this fair sun
Who burns the earth and grinds the rocks
Into powder. And yellow’s the green grass
For once again the wind does laugh
And bring the clouds of shadow
And once again the thunder drums
And once again the rains run rivers
And once again the air is ice
And once again winter strokes the world
For this is fickle May weather
Which beats and burns and drowns in one
A procession of seasons in an afternoon
All promised, yet gain we none.