The Rainbow

The Rainbow The world howled and the roaring thunder did clap, amid frothing waters and whipping winds our vessel marched. To us whom the boiling sea had unkindly spared there was no stopgap, the hellish deluge spared us no water to salve our throats parched, and our spirits the horrendous face of death did sap. My captain's fearless visage did cower in prayer, his wise hands wrung in mute submission to the Lord. Invincible masters of the seas we were by day, yet we did not dare to wear such mighty crowns as the storm had us floored. The heavens we begged for forgiveness, and our sins we did declare. A brilliant blaze of lightning drenched our pallid faces in light. The nightmarish hum of pelting rain, a ghoulish crescendo of cries and the hissing sprays of sea water did ring through our plight, upon us ruled judgment and over us the majestic skies did appear as God's black throne, deeming us minuscule and contrite. So wedded I was to the denouement of my mortal existence that the infernal spectacles now filled me with awe, not fear. When, in a moment of epiphany our tortured eyes did squint at the distance and an end in sight amid the growling clouds did appear, God's hand, manifest as a golden ray of hope, offered us subsistence. Feeble thanks we dispatched, our knees unsteady, the downpour wore itself out to a solemn drizzle. Those reclaimed lives, unblemished by fear did find us heady and jubilant, and amid thankful tears our eyes beheld the storm's fizzle. In the sky a blessing in seven colors - heaven's arc - had been built already. Date: 10th October 2021 Contest: Quintain (Sicilian) Poetry Contest Sponsor:Emile Pinet