And The Storm Rages On Poem by Elizabeth Sheaffer

Lightning illuminates the gnarled branches
Of the old tree outside the windowpane
Rain trickles down the glass in clear rivulets
But the storm inside is much worse than out
For inside rages an emotional storm
And those are always most severe
A man, all alone, grappling with his feelings
Twisting emotions of hatred, doubt, and pain
The picture most grim from where he sits
No hope in sight, he withdraws from the world
A metallic flash as the harsh fluorescents
Brilliantly illuminate the bitter end, serrated
Rain trickles down the glass in crimson rivulets
The storm inside having run its course
Subsides and gives in to the howling wind
As a lone man lies motionless on gleaming tile
A smile stretching his lips at long last