Measuring the weight of clouds

He stands watching steam rise
from the boiling water of the open pan

He clasped his hands together
to catch a cloud of steam somehow

And it is moments like these
men in their madness dream
of measuring the weight of clouds

He stood his mouth wide open
and tried to catch a cloud of steam

And it is at moments like this
that large bellied men scheme
to measure the weight of clouds.

A black blind owl sits in a tree
listening with care to the words of the man
standing above the boiling pan

This wise bird could clearly hear
each movement the man made
to grasp and gather a cloud of steam

And it is at times like these
that earth becomes more dangerous.

On the mountains top
the child lies on his back in the grass
watching clouds stream past
the effortless changing forms
and sees too the time ahead
when ice a mile thick
will cover the land again.

Men stand watching steam rise
from the boiling water of the open pan
and see nothing, hear nothing
not even the sound of time
breathing hot breathed
at the back of their necks

And it is at times like these
that earth becomes more dangerous.

© 2017, Rob Cullen