Storm Ending

“Storm Ending” is a modern interpretation of a pastoral poem that includes descriptions of thunder, flowers, wind, rain, sun, and the earth. The speaker of the poem is only identified through the plural first-person pronoun “our” (Lines 1 and 4). It is unknown how many people this collective involves, which leaves the emphasis on natural elements.

The first line focuses on describing the thunder. The verb describing the action of the thunder is “blossoms” (Line 1), which, through metaphor, creates a connection between thunderclouds and flowers. However, this blossoming is “above our heads” (Line 1). This spatially places the unidentified observers far beneath the thunderclouds, and they are thus in a position without power or control; Humans can only perceive the storm, not control it. This element emphasizes “our” [Line 1} earthly status and, by contrast, elevates the cosmic station of the storm.

The second line describes thundercloud-flowers. The “flowers” (Line 2) are given no specific type or name, but they are “bell-like” (Line 2), which implicitly compares the thunder to a bell tone. Likewise, the flowers are a metaphor for the thunderclouds; this reading builds upon the verb “blossoms” (Line 1) and accords with the descriptor “Great” (Line 2) or, in other words, huge.