I wrote this poem, Tempest and Calm, as I watched weather changes but it also reflects what my life was like and still is at times. My power of observation has been greatly heightened since the stroke and I get a great deal of pleasure from ‘taking in the ambience’ wherever I might be. I recall watching the incredible beauty in a storm from the hospital window. How much more I enjoyed watching a storm at Cape Woolamai after my discharge.
TEMPEST AND CALM
I have known fear,
Seen majesty, power and might,
Experienced calmness, tranquility and peace,
Encountered beauty hard to behold,
Things only the hand of God can control.
I see rocks pounded by surf,
High rolling seas,
No mortal can survive whatever their strength,
Depositing a deluge,
Expunging all from sight.
All to be heard the howl of the gale,
A wind that destroys, wind that controls,
It slashes, bites with force unrelenting,
Birds buffeted, battered can not keep their path,
Dropping to ground
Escaping its blast,
Hiding their heads await it to pass.
Sand like razor sharp pellets sever the air,
Cutting and grinding,
Finally settling in crevice and crack,
Only to vanish in the driving rain.
Then it abates,
All is transformed,
Billowing clouds, patches of blue,
All reflected in a sea so still,
Magnificent light, the sun breaks through,
Reflecting beauty to be stored in the mind.
Birds once more graceful dart and swerve,
Preening themselves,
On a beach now subdued,
Elegant images on glistening sands,
A silence descends,
All to be heard the lap of the waves,
And echoing cries from gulls above.
Only our Father produces such theatre,
To show us His grandeur,
To show us His serenity,
Who could be fearful in this world of ours?
Birds weather the storm, we can endure,
All that it needs is trust in God,
It’s a privilege this day to witness these scenes,
With God in control what’s there to fear?
© Helen McIntosh
You don’t need to have a stroke to experience ‘Tempest and Calm’ in your life. We all have times of difficulties and feel we are living in the midst of a storm. But as my poems says, ‘Then it abates …’ and all seems calm. Often in these calm times we get hit by some unexpected thing and we are thrown into the turbulence again. I find it important at the beginning of each day to ask God to be with me and to help me through what ever life throws up.
‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’.
Psalm 46:1 (KJV)