Encyclopedia (found) poem: Cloudburst
Though at first glance a cloudy sky may appear chaotic
to a perceptive observer
there is some semblance of order.
Ernie sweeps
the wide corridor
with small, swift strokes
Clouds are formed by the prolonged ascent
of air bearing water vapour,
which rises and cools without heat exchange.
Ernie was formed by drinking father
bitter mother, foster homes,
and sleeping on the heat exchange
The temperature falls
below the dew point
and the air becomes saturated.
Ernie suffers from frequent falls
And a socked-in fog
In his frontal lobe
Excess vapour condenses on airbourne particles.
Often these are salt particles produced by the bursting
air bubbles of breaking waves.
Ernie broke...some noses.
Now he eats potato chips and smokes dust-pan butts
with nicotine-stained fingers
Cloud droplets must grow considerably if they are to fall
through the cloud, survive
evaporation, and reach the ground.
Ernie smashed his head through a mesh-wired window.
One hundred and thirty stitches.
He did not reach the ground.
In cold upper regions droplets freeze
and later grow into ice
crystals by sublimation.
Ernie laid a hot iron on his inner left
forearm. He could not
say why.
Larger sized cloud droplets, falling faster,
collide and coalesce
with those lying in the fall path.
Ernie sits silent in the blue vinyl lounge chair.
Sits and smokes
and listens to the rain.
All italicized sections were taken more or less verbatim from:
Mason, B.J. "Clouds." The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 15th Edition.1982.
