NATURAE

Copyright (C) 2002 by L.M. Wong
Dommy dominaeprimus@yahoo.com
NATURAE by DOM
ARBITER: That which is swiftest may speak first . LIGHTNING: My tardy twin Thunder , resent me not for my swiftness . Bear with me patiently . I was made to streak . Seen as jagged slender strands , flashing boorishly . A snippet of intensity . Tarry for a twinkling , then I?ll away unlike the sun who burns through the life of day . My bolts set afire inconspicuous shrubs of lowlands and I have felled towering trees . No hiatus for hesitation ere the fateful sweep . Whipping lashes stay their distance from compassion . Dart as I may I cannot escape being a herald and accompaniment of Nature?s tempestuous ravings . THUNDER: Clarion of the heavens . Faithful and boisterous shadow of bolting lightning . Herald of advancing showers . Thunder I am named . I trail my brethren so faithfully we are often thought of as one entity . Some fear my bellowing more than whipping cracks from my kinsman. When I erupt , my sonic boom flusters and splinters quiet . To the faint hearted I?m the dreaded heart jolter , after the flash . Even at my most subtle attempts at whispering , my secrets are known across the plains . ARBITER: A mite tardier than lightning but still promptly stated . SKY: From the horizon upwards , lies my dominion . Whenever Heaven is mentioned , I come to mind . Claimed by governments of the earth though they are bound to the ground . Perhaps it is my Fate to literally be the ?air of contention? . Mortals look up to me as they invoke , voyagers seek me to discern course and location . I evolve from being plainly pale to being bedaubed with every obtainable hue in the hours of diurnal privilege.On nights clear , jewelled treasures wink and gleam on darkened backdrop . When my mood is darkened , my state is overcome by sinister cloud banks , a sure presage of intemperance . Winds growl ominously . Thunder rumbles threateningly while its twin flashes and cracks its whip . It?s violence ascending . Vexations or calm of the earth below , by virtue of my station , I am privy to them . What mischief or righteous deeds of earth dwellers , I am aware unless they be cautiously guarded , discreet in manner , shielded by opportunely erected walls or foliage dense , I must confess the confines of my notice . WIND: Aye , yea to all that . But o'erlook me not for I mush roving evolving clouds skywards any season . I have watched them in limber state or weary with a load of grey . Mutating portions distancing , approaching , amalgamating with main hub of the herd . At the fancy of my exhalation , I lead them along a lazy trot , in prancing pace or at full gallop . EARTH: Surface that sprawls till ebbing edges of sight . Lesser than the sea yet I too am a host to life . In plainer terms ? The very ground that you tread . Lush where dew and rainfall converge . My verdant glory thrives well in temperate clime . None of the living will ever be in want unless they be severe unto themselves . Harsh where elements rave and abundance , a rarity . There an oasis of ease and generosity is an aberration . Past ages have seen me cleave continents into serrated portions . Crust peel to chisel and shape . Some perish in the upheaval of creation . I am most capricious where my faults lie . When dregs of fits peters , composure is bestirred . A rush of Wind . Then a voice hisses . WIND: If I may again , Arbiter your pardon , I beseech . Earth rests snugly in repose from core to outlying crust . Earth too has its scions to bear and nurture . My intervention is welcomed in the diaspora of seedlings and efforts of pollination . Thus Earth shall neither lack fresh foliage to clothe its bare soil nor shall I lack labours to attest to my worthiness . ARBITER: Fair assemby , I have so far spoken sparsely . Your contribution has been favourable to our efforts . So it is now that I wish to add to your orations . While we speak Earth unleashes a torrid surprise . Look below you . Molten flaming splinters sprout from funnels , lofty protrusions from surface crust . Springs of ancient wrath spray and fling its repressed fury , heeding not whom or what it incinerates when gravity reclaims lava?s spurts . Roiled dust form smoky plumes , shroud clarity of view , choke and engulf those hopelessly ensnared . Lava is no kin to mercy yet its ashes enriches where it settles , exorcising the curse of previous barrenness . ( A pause .) Proceed with the next willing player . I withdraw and the cue is yours to take . WIND: Breath that seeps through stitches of fabric , permeates structures , strokes faces with fleeting feathery brushes unseen . A force which reins you aback even as you strain forth . I bend branches and scatter flakes of parched leaves all over the sod . Dry current which flay suspended flags , gushing exhalations that increase swelling of waves , a prelude to nature?s outpourings . When incensed my gusts snatch up loosened surface of an irritated ocean . We unite in a furious enterprise . Together we pummel coastlines with vehement abandon ……. ah .. but that is only a hair?s breadth of my intemperance ! Beware my churning vortex uproots and disbands ! My indiscretion upsets both natural and contrived array for it is I who play the part of howling harbinger in nature?s agitations . ARBITER: Another comes ! What have you to add to this amusing fray ? Speak and we shall bear gladly for you as for all before . RAIN: I'm the load discharged by the grey underbelly of clouds . Slight melting drops upon uncovered brow's arch , spillover from forehead's incline . I flit like cascading leaves of autumn . Droplets hover at the seams , swiftly absorbed by fibers . Offer your hands , watch drops roll from tips of digits , gathering at the depression of upturned palms then overflowing on to the curvature of wrists . Showers cast a hazy blur over drop zones of its descent . Beads of gravel that coagulate at the base of grassy blades are softened , plumped and liquefied . Aliment seeps into the earth . Every drop eagerly imbibed . A feast which mazes of roots cannot refuse . The remainder , they prudently conserve . I come as torrents broiling with impatience . Ready at the knock when floodgates are unbolted , sprint the instant the aperture fits . When seasons assume their turn in even alteration , I dive to thicken mobs which have descended , not as rain , as flakes initially pristine , then soiled as I melt . Verdant lands testify to my labours but the deserts have hitherto been hesitant . Wind reenters the scene . WIND: Be not carried away with regaling tales of your might scions of clouds grey . It is I who sweep you while aloft and guide your trajectory . Deprived of my bolstering breath , you'll be mere dull thuds that litter immaculate slates of earthly calm . Another enters . Speaks . SEA: Rain , your drops are trifling trickles compared to the expanse of my form yet you feed me still , with unflinching duty . Replenishing those lost to that implacable torrid torch of day . Think of me not as ungrateful . With a sweeping gesture Arbiter orders peace to those in the forum . Rises to speak . ARBITER: Nature?s luminous sphere can neither boast nor gloat over its lunar glow . Light that it sheds on earth is borrowed from solar effulgence . How may Earth?s turf fluorish or renew itself if denied of sustenance rained down by bellies of weighty clouds ? The sea shan?t hail its fickle tides without alluding it to lunar influence . Elements mercurial evolve from benevolence to presence fearsome . Each stride smoothens each stumble . For every strength , a flaw . An enhancing complement for a vulnerability . For all their imposing sinews , yours are not the governing hands of existence . They act upon the will and bidding of the Supreme Master . May the tardy guest proceed . OCEAN: The greater portion of the Earth . My mass exceeds that of land yet my jurisdiction lies below airy sky . Altering currents pass through my mass . Moored in tranquil rest I am a delightful sight for strollers along the strand , a fortunate find for a happy cruise . Often called ?The Sea? or ?Ocean? , I?m the watery brine though many a stream of fresh rivers feed me . Swell to gargantuan heights , I shake courage off bravado?s veneer , my unease peels off pugnaciousness as hollow quaverings of terror are shoved within core of accustomed seafarers . Ships and boats are playthings . At rest , I allow them free rein to bob friskily . In vexation?s fetters I toss them vigorously , sometimes causing them to keel over . Within me creatures close to the surface and residents of the deep depths are lodged . Game to seafaring land dwellers whose existence upon my munificence rely immensely . There are seasons when I grant grand bounty but when abused I turn skinflint . Seabound land dwellers despair till abates my rage . Look ye ! A speeding craft slices thinly upon overlapping billowy currents , leaving traces of its course with trails of upturned foam . As speedily as it was spliced asunder , tidal ripples suture incisions made . Stitching with natural precision , revived waves teem with renewal . Withdraws from the rostrum . Arbiter rises . Speaks . ARBITER: Well said all ! Soon ebbs this respite . We shall part and I shall take contents of proceedings to my Celestial Master . Go now your diverse ways . The spherical world awaits anxiously . A pause too lengthy upheaves life?s cycle . To this amusing assemblage , my gratitude to your accomodating forbearance . Hasten to your preordained forte . Recent friends and orators , fare thee well !