The sky is not behaving.
It’s not keeping its promises.
The forecasters are puzzled
but it’s done this before.
The crucial thing is to recognise
when it’s being serious
and when it’s playing a game.
For example here’s a handful of clouds
which usually take delight
in their own reflections but somehow
have got lost in the mountains.
They sail from peak to peak
and look for lakes, windows,
skiers with mirrors for eyes.
Under these vain water-bearers,
we have our cares,
these old jackets and boots
which no longer fit us
and vocabularies from which words fall
like the snow which is starting to hide
the way back to the hut. For us,
the choice remains clear
and as if according to schedule
an old man appears in the forest
and advises us to follow
his directions and not to get confused
beneath the clouds among the клекове.
Image: Marina Shiderova; text: Tom Phillips
