I see the effects of prevailing winds,
the stark trees morphed and twisted,
posts gnarled against the freeze and thaw,
the light and dark valkyries
raging across these blighted skies.
This may be natural or foisted upon us –
tell me, how can we be sure?
This world, I look around,
lost in time and out of place.
I feel like a stranger, alone more and more,
while some nature distorts and disfigures
the beauty I was taught to distrust

copyright Francis Barker 2019