THE GATHERING CLOUD
J R Carpenter
Plate No. 5.
A
nimbusAppearances are but imperfectly seen.
Nimbostratus revels in incessant rain.
The cumulonimbus contains energy
equivalent to ten Hiroshima-sized bombs.
or rain-cloud on the horizon
letting fall
showersAt a greater altitude, a thin light veil.
Lower, clouds unite in a uniform sheet.
The rain then commences, arriving from windward.
at moderate distance.
Two clouds, as yet in sunshine, show forwardness
by their
expansionThe cloud's complex evolving structure makes it feel almost like a living organism.
, progress toward the same state.
The Cloud spreads beyond the edges of the page
a topography of our
fearsReadily available recovery
makes disaster imaginable constantly.
Backups stored in the cloud wait as if asleep
for a catastrophe that may never come.
and
desiresWhen did computing come to feel personal?
When we stopped counting cost of computation?
Like a muzzled creature, The Cloud strains to be
more than it is, its sights on larger quarry.
.