clouds engulf the sky

 as clouds engulf the sky

horizon to horizon, only then

do we see the combat of currents

roil, stretch, gather, glide

layer, buffet, billow, darken

tower, menace, collide, twist,

rotate, rebound, slither, wisp

transparent air interactions

made visible by minute captive bits

of moisture and debris

warfare enormously powerful

mostly hidden from our mindfulness

dark night of fall

 dark night

as the huge, full, near

harvest moon

submits to cowering

in earth’s growing shadow

and stars and constellations

flicker and dim beyond

our accumulating fog

and autumn rain clouds