I keep thinking about clouds, how they tumble across the skies
Carrying the weight of their sorrows inside them
Clouds are brave
They aren’t afraid to show anger, to throw light at the darkened world below them
They are not afraid to cry until we drown
However, they also submit to an abuse; they are thrown across the dawn
Until they slam into tomorrow’s sunsets
Their bruises staining the sky purple and magenta
Dawn blood dapples the eyes of the early bird who wakes to greet the young soldiers
They hide the sun behind them, the wind tearing at their flesh, screaming in their ears
They tighten their grip and red rain falls
“Protect me brothers”
“Of course”
The bruises fade to blue fingerprints, nail grooves trace their backs
The clouds run away to Tomorrowland, their bruised bellies filled with tears
The sun sheltering behind them as they dash across indigo skies
Dunedin Secondary School Poetry Competition