Gathering Clouds

Originally posted at https://dsserv.net/poetry/gatheringclouds/.

Thunder rolling in the distance
Veiled whispers on the evening news
Silver tongues weaving illusions
While we stand with nothing to lose
Bright suits shaking hands in shadows
Papers signed under dimming lights
Promises carved into false halos
They draw lines we can’t see at night

Clouds gather, hearts shatter
No one sees the storm that’s born
Lines drawn in silence, out of compliance
The calm before the coming war

Fear settles in like a warning
Shivers that we try to ignore
We watch as they move the pieces
A silent chess game before the roar
Empty streets, anxious reflections
Footsteps echo in hollow halls
Hope feels fleeting, in each direction
We brace ourselves for darkness to fall

Clouds gather, hearts shatter
No one sees the storm that’s born
Lines drawn in silence, out of compliance
The calm before the coming war

Clouds gather, hearts shatter
The truth we knew has been torn
Lines drawn in silence, forced into violence
The calm is gone, the war is born