SONNET FOR A WINDY DAY Across cirrus sky swift brush strokes paint mares' tails While o'er restless tree tops in anxious susurration, Trains of cumbrous clouds traverse on vaporous rails And below, meadow grasses align in wild undulation Lake surface is whipped to agitated motion Plumage ruffled, wildfowl navigate with discretion Gulls now inland tell of vehement storms on ocean All are braced or cautioned by nature's bare aggression When young I embraced such fury in any medium Deplored the concept and sensation of perfect peace Such state seemed a recipe for endless tedium Chance and hazard preferred to slow drawn out release While I now sometimes yearn for a brief respite from strife I aspire to some risk and high winds that give breath to life