Pg. 50 — AS A CLOUD by Arden Hunter
Lights, flares, streaks and flashes;
Livestock gone, returned as ashes.
All these draw the squinting crowds
(far more than my impish clouds).
Drift, float, halt and hang;
(wandered lonely, poets sang).
These though; they are not alone;
Familiar shape, purpose: unknown.
Dense, heavy, high, free;
Soft conundrum, seems to be.
Travels now against the wind
(darkest grey and lightning-rimmed).
Perhaps one day I’ll be inside;
Fathom what it is to ride,
With you who are not from here
(water-vapour-safe; no fear).
Until then I’ll marvel more;
Trapped on gravitation’s shore,
At your camouflage display
(fly so close, then float away).
Dream on, clouds of space,
‘Til the day you know my face;
Hosts of daffodils will see,
My clouds wandering with me.
Editor’s Note: Arden states that “As a Cloud,” is a riff on William Wordsworth’s, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” and addresses the phenomenon of UFOs using and creating clouds as camouflage.
Arden Hunter
Arden is an aroace agender writer, artist and performer with an eclectic range of interests from the horrific to the whimsical, the theme tying all of their work together is an inexplicable and unconditional love of the ridiculous beast that is called ‘human.’ Arden has words and art hosted by Farther from the Trees, Bear Creek Gazette and MASKS Literary Magazine, among other places. Find them on Twitter @hunterarden – they love chatting to readers and creators.