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The Storm
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Tennessee Myth Tennessee is a land of thunderstorms
Both metaphorical and literal, take my meaning?
I won't bore you with florid descriptions
Of crackling white lightning bolting across the sky,
louder than any machine, louder than a train
I won't make you guess my meaning
When I describe the rains, hot and torrential
That fill the ditch with white water rapids
That flood the yard and the kitchen
No metaphor here to unpack, I assure you
I wish only to say
I know storms
I was raised under storms,
As literal as you like
I was raised in thunder and downpour
I was raised with the hissing of rainfall on a window
I was raised with lightning in the sky above me
Mighty Zeus hurling his power
It is, by the way, the fear of God
Which is what you may call "animal terror"
I know storms
I shall be quiet for a while
While it passes
I can't remember a time when there wasn't storms
But I am she who bears witness
I am she who bears the storm
Your extended metaphor is
Your extended metaphor is very impressive, as is the modulation of the poem's voice---quiet at the beginning and end, but mire emphatic in those lines that begin with "I was raised." Once again, I gladly say, as I did about the Siren poem and the Fox poem: I really, really enjoyed reading this one.
Starward
Thank you so much! I've sent
Thank you so much! I've sent you pm to better express my thanks and say how pleased I am that you've liked my recent bout of work. As for this poem, I wanted the lines to somewhat reflect the tempo of a storm, how the threat looms overhead, them strikes suddenly and then recedes just as quickly; the last stanza is meant to evoke an emotion or imagery of listening to the last roll of thunder in the distance
Yes, the tempo of the storm
Yes, the tempo of the storm is counterpointed to the tone and sound of the speaking voice in the poem. The poem displays its verbal power successfully and dramatically.
Starward