I Can See the Wind

I can see the wind.

You can see the airborne leaves, scooped

up from the ground,

You can see the waving branches

on tired trees

but I see the wind.

Not the inside out umbrellas

or the skirts around red faced ladies,

or even the cigarette packet

zipping through the air.

I can see it.

It’s not invisible!

Its long and its night coloured

and shaped like a snake and

it slithers and swishes through my hair

playing invisible.

I can see the wind.

I see it laughing

when it reaches in our chest

and sucks our breath

then whips our words into a whisper.

I’m not fooled

by its malice

when it asks the rain

to join in.

I can see the wind

and it’s ugly.

©Eilidh G Clark