The Worst of Storms

You cannot blame the storms.
It is not the storms that caused this mess,
this collapse. Never mind
the far-flung debris, the evidence,
no matter how false, of storms.

This is mere negligence, abandonment.
Time allowed its free reign,
the damage no less
than the worst of storms.

About this poem

Not all violence is violent. Negligence and abandonment can be as damaging. In buildings. In people.

The picture is of a farm just across the state border from where I live.

Tom