The Sullen Day

The morning woke in a sullen
fog of darkness, the hungover
legacy of a night devoted to drenching
the landscape, stirring the wind to
dash sodden leaves against windows
and highways, tree trunks and
garden beds. Lurching from
ill temper to outright hostility
fierce gusts grappled with
gnarled old limbs in the forest
humbling them to the ground
there to stay and to rot. There
was little indulgence to civility
pending in the day's itinerary
glutted with atmospheric rage
streaming rain and cold persuading
a timid sun to find haven from
its persecutors, shivering and pale
held captive behind dark clouds.