after Stone by Charles Simic
Looking from the earth, the cloud is humdrum:
the weathermen know how to answer it.
But within, it must be electric and stirring
because Lake Erie pulls on it full weight,
because the oaks lust for a touch, a drink;
the cloud floats, swift, battle-ready
to heaven’s alcove
where the redwoods come to brush on it
and whisper.
I see sparks bolt and branch
when two clouds converge
But a zephyr often waits
over there—just behind that hill
to blow out the cotton-ball candle
flames, burning fervent yet
ever so brief.
Go above a cloud
that would be my way.
Alena Zhang is currently a junior at Newark Academy in NJ. She has been published in Cicada, and her work has been nationally recognized in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Her hobbies include overthinking and spending time doing things other than homework.