Split, stretched –as bats’

Skeletal broken wings exposed,

Laying in pools of muddy rainwater

Metal skeletons forsaken-

Of service no more,

Left by roadside

Like fossilized remains

Resurfacing after floods.

____________________________________ 

Storm-shattered umbrellas,

Drenched wings still flapping,

As those of a moth in

Last moments of life.

Lowered crumpled sails, of

Used-to-be umbrellas --

Going nowhere. They’ve

Been abandoned, discarded, yet --

Not at owners’ will, but

Snatched away,

Accosted by frivolously

Maddening, commanding figure of a storm.

___________________________________________________
Protective shields from wet invasion were

Stolen, pulled effortlessly out of men’s

Flimsy hands. 

Seizing gasps of wind

Inevitably invasive, as if

A giant mouth - gulping, crunching,

Spewing out shambled remains

Dispersed on sidewalks of acity                      

Undermining, swallowing passers-by.

                _____________
Umbrellas – tents of past refuge

Ripped apart, dismembered by

A wild beast of wet rage.


Parachuting umbrellas

Stripped of their frames,

Their substance stretched

To limits, disheveled.

Metal structures pulled apart

As giant knitting needles

Dropped in disarray, as if

An old knitter

Fleeing for her life.           

_______________________________________________

…And then some others scattered, as

Giant porcupines shoving crooked spears

Into passersby. About them a very

Hungry look, as they seemed to be

Tagging at our sleeves.

Umbrellas’ lonely shadows still

Searching for masters that’ve been.

                                    ________________
Walking through a stormy city

Trying not be swept by wind,

It appeared - I was passing the

Cemetery grounds of soggy

Ruined shields of life.

Empty shells lay everywhere,

Breathless, gasping –

Not finding life.

Flesh was stripped from their bones,

Skinned alive, dismembered –

Left to die. 

                                          _________________
Deflated remains of umbrellas’ souls

Still floating by and around,

Even though tossed aside -

They rise, gathering speed

On volatile mission. 

___________________________________________
…And so, once upon a time –

As history implies,

The safety-shields

Protecting heads – were

Gratefully respected, their

Sturdy legs persistent and strong

Held high with pride and showmanship,

Paraded in everyone’s sight,

Were viewed as irreplaceable.
 _______________________
They had a life of their own -

Young and old,

Frail and strong.

Senoritas of flowery substance

Flirtatious or shy, with

Long fringed eyelashes swaying

Playfully on their walks                                                                      

The old, wiser carriers

Umbrellas with heavy rusted legs

Trembling and swaying,

Unsure, insecure they were held

In shaking worn-out hands. Those

Raven-black, enormously big and lopsided,

So scary they appeared.

As if they would collapse at

Any moment, even as

Owners’ weary hearts. 

____________________________________
Umbrellas’ souls are in travail

Obligated, chained to hands of men

That led them into service,

Rendering their hearts

And then – discarded. 

Slight wounding, reaping of

Flapping parts, as bird’s

Broken wings;

Being accosted by life’s

Mischievous intruder wind,

The future with partner

Overhead is – sharply, speedily

Abbreviated, and

Is - no more.