“Ode to the East Wind” by Carol Casey

You come from where our stark beginnings find
their birth and blow through truth and storm to where
the roots of cold dig deep and make us blind
with tears that freeze on faces wild with care
and make escape from you such great relief
that other burdens seem so light to bear
when we are left with only human grief
to gather up within some sheltered lair
while you go on to taunt the naked trees
And howl your lonely dirges through the air
where sere fates toss about like brittle leaves
that sweep both nerve and landscape into prayer.
For it’s your careless power we resist
and challenged, find the courage to persist.

Carol Casey lives in Blyth, Ontario, Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has appeared in The Prairie Journal, BluePepper, Back Channels, Front Porch Review and others, including a number of anthologies, most recently, i am what becomes of broken branch and We Are One: Poems From the Pandemic. Facebook: @ccaseypoetry; Twitter: @ccasey_carol; Webpage: https://learnforlifepotential.com/home-2/poetry/