The tapioca-sky keeps
her secrets close to her bosom,
she stays silent,
plucking her eye-brows, brooding
with thunderhead tongue,
but when I deal she says
“no”,
sits speechless and smiles.
Is she content
with a passable pair of eights
or a full house of aces and knights
pulled from the sleeves of her cumulus-dress?
The tension is building,
tiptoes galvanic, magnetic when
suddenly,
she opens and cackles
revealing her flashes,
her flow and her rain,
her blessing and curse,
flowing to rivulets, rivers
turning dirt into puddles and mud,
turning deserts to lakes,
and I trade my chips for seed-pods and grain,
From this our harvests are born.
Today it’s Open Link Night at dVerse , Grace hosts and the bar is open.
October 15, 2020
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I love that shade of the tapioca sky. And no one can bargain with mother nature with all of our cards. Love the energy & tension building, when she opens up for seed pods and grains. We are blessed with good harvests indeed.
That’s a great choice of artwork to illustrate your poem, Björn. I enjoyed the personification of the ‘tapioca-sky’ – what a way to describe a sky full of cloud and storm! I love the image of her playing cards with ‘a full house of aces and knights / pulled from the sleeves of her cumulus-dress’. The cloudburst and lightning flashes in the final stanza bring the poem to a fabulous crescendo, and the country wisdom of the final lines.
Wonderful personification.
Oh this is gorgeously worded, Bjorn! 💝 I so admire; “Is she content
with a passable pair of eights or a full house of aces and knights
pulled from the sleeves of her cumulus-dress?” Only time will tell … 🙂
I love the idea of the farmer as gambler. Of course, it is always a gamble – and I never met a farmer who didn’t have something to complain about – nothing ever goes quite to plan. I love your personfication of the sky, especially that cumulus dress!
You continue to take us on uncharted journeys, rife with striking imagery and electric language. The sky is bitch/goddess, sultry and dangerous, like an atmospheric silkie. The farmer is gambler, part winner, part loser.
Glenn, I adore your comment. You nailed it.
Oh Björn! You make me smile and instantly fall in love with your Lady. Though I would not play with her, she seems way to wiley. A cackle is a mark of witchy powers. 😀
Personificationally outstanding. Salute, Bjorn.
It does sometimes seem She is playing with us. And she always holds all the cards. (K)
I loved the analogy of how our dealings with nature are always a gamble. The images you conjure are so vivid – I especially liked “she stays silent, plucking her eye-brows, brooding.”
Beautiful flow, I especially like ‘cumulus dress’ — I can visualise it in an anthropomorphic way…
I love the symbolism of a pair of 8’s, which to me are the same old thing over and over (infinity on its side.) There are parallel meanings that are deftly woven in your poem.
Great poem. I like the word play. Tapioca sky pulled me right into this poem.
kaykuala
suddenly, she opens and cackles
revealing her flashes,
Love this Bjorn! You’ve captured the irritating moment often seen when they gleely revealed their superior hand triumphantly
Hank
My farmer husband tries to force this hussie’s hand every day! Love the tapioca sky and cumulus dress 🙂
Very clever piece Björn, the conceit of the poker game and bargaining with ‘lady’ weather – laughed at the pun of ‘revealing her flashes’ (flushes) – and liked the energy and release in the second stanza – all those ‘f’ sounds falling down the lines. And a lovely coda to the whole sparkling performance.
…and plays with my sinuses
You did an excellent job personifying the clouds and the weather.
This was a great line…. pulled from the sleeves of her cumulus-dress?
What a unique poem to go with the art by Van Gogh. I do feel like the men in that picture are up for the game, they’ve got 3 spades after all 🙂 The sky is such a tease at times.
Excellent build up and very clever! I loved the connections between the card game, the artwork and the weather.
Fascinating imagery of the storm personified – captivating!
Stunning, just stunning!
Quite a last line and a survivors poem but tapioca sky will stay me. An amazing image of cloud formation!
I love the tapioca sky… I love the images throughout lovely poem. I hope you are well.
Delightful. I found myself swept up in it all.
Read and enjoyed Bjorn. Well written!
Beautiful prose!
this personification is beyond genius, Bjorn. and tapioca sky????? how!
I love “tapioca-sky” and “cumulus dress”. Lady Luck and Lady Weather”!