The winds of change blow hard
Rattling my windows
Shaking every tree in my yard
I flinch under the covers
Frightened and sick.
**
I try to shut out the howling storm
But it will not be ignored
One by one the windows shatter
And my blanket of safety gets whipped up in the breeze
I hug and hold onto it for dear life
But the wind, it takes no prisoners
The blanket is ripped clean out of my trembling hands.
**
I shut my eyes and bury my face in my knees
Afraid of what is to come next
A minute turns into an hour
As I sit there waiting for the worst
My hammering heart shuts out the calm
That has descended all around me.
**
I dare to open my eyes and peek
At the place I once called home
It was all but a mangled heap
Of concrete and stone
And yet there I was amidst the shambles
Alive and well albeit a little shaken.
**
I picked myself up and shed a tear
For the past that was gone
I looked up at the gaping hole where my roof used to sit
And at the clouds that were clearing
Far away in the shadow of the sun a rainbow was forming
Awakening in me hope for the future
A future built from scratch
A future with no glass windows or roofs
Open and free for the winds of change to blow through
Incessantly.
**
Damayanti Chandrasekhar lives in Florida with her husband and two children, loves yoga, baking and the Tao. She has a Masters degree in Journalism and currently volunteers at the local public school. Her other interests include reading, travelling and playing agony aunt via her blog www.punctuatelife.com.