A Thunder Storm, by David Gosselin

Mountains and Pines in Spring, attributed to Mi Fu, (China) Song Dynasty 960-1279

A Thunder Storm

The storm raged on for many days,
Endlessly pummelling the sage
And his apprentice, night by night,
But they took comfort in its rage.

Hiding beneath a craggy ridge,
They watched along the mountainsides
The elemental beauty of
The storm erupt before their eyes.

They watched the storm in all its grace,
In every stage, from nascent clouds
Into the hoary majesty
Of thunderheads swarming in crowds,

Until at last the tempest fades
Away and empty skies of grey
Remain like consciousness in an
Old man who slowly fades away.

A glimmer too, of light, appeared--
The kind we only see, perhaps,
When we have reached the end of ends,
When we have run life’s final laps.

The travellers spoke of many things
Throughout that storm: the student asked
His master many questions on
His travels and his loves, his pains.

The sage replied, “It’s a long story”--
Pausing, he calmly looked into
The parting sea of gilded clouds,
“One day, you’ll know your story too.”

David Gosselin
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David Gosselin is a poet, translator, and linguist based in Montreal. He is the founder of The Chained Muse poetry website and New Lyre Podcast. His first collection of poems is entitled Modern Dreams.