Even Hurricanes Make Flowers Grow

By JMA

I was a destroyer
A fickle force of nature
Who strolled through life
Damaging
Every soul I touched
Then you came into me
A storm
You ignited a conflagration
Within me
That catalyzed my transformation
Into the man you see before you
Fire burns
Not to destroy
But to transform
Transmute
Transmogrify
A change in temperament
Tempered by the slick touch
Of the woman who loves me
You have my hurricane
But even hurricanes make flowers grow

6 Comments

  1. Ryan on May 22, 2017 at 1:08 PM

    I love the metaphor of the hurricane being transformed and tamed when a force (faith? love? both?) came into the narrator’s life. I really like the less-usual idea of fire not destroying but transforming, as catalyst. Well done!

  2. Reid Baron on May 22, 2017 at 1:28 PM

    I like it. It talks about an inner force breaking out, and not the bars holding in. Nice.

  3. Sarah S on May 22, 2017 at 9:58 PM

    This poem gave me chills. When I started reading it, I wasn’t sure where it was going, but quickly got caught up in the vivid imagery and when I finished immediately started over to read it again. I love how propulsive this poem is. Its initial jaggedness whips into a fever pitch of conflagration, catalysts, and fire, then propels us with the clicking “T” sounds (“transform, transmute, transmogrify”) toward the awesome force of a hurricane. You can feel a great force brewing, gathering speed, and then exploding. And then- something unexpected happens. The hurricane does not exclusively cause destruction, but brings something totally at odds with the rest of the poem, the rest of the image the reader has: flowers. I think it is beautiful how abruptly they appear. In the course of the poem, you evolve from destroyer to flower. Anyone would be lucky to have that kind of transforming force in their life.

  4. Andrea Ruggirello on May 30, 2017 at 7:32 PM

    I love the repetition of the “t” sounds at the end–those hard sounds contrast in a lovely way with the line “of the woman who loves me.” I can really HEAR this poem.

  5. janet reedy on June 21, 2017 at 9:10 PM

    This is a beautiful title — and a beautiful poem. You were the hurricane in a destructive sense. Now you are a hurricane as a force for good . And you refer to the woman you love, the one whose influence transformed you, as a storm, another hurricane as a force for good. I also like the fire images: igniting a conflagration, burning to transform not to destroy. This is very powerful. Keep writing. You have a lot to say.
    Best wishes,
    Janet

  6. Brenna on June 22, 2017 at 12:39 PM

    JMA, I may come back to this with more after I have some time to process your poem, but I must say that I was struck by your powerful imagery, especially “Fire burns/Not to destroy/But to transform” and your ending line “But even hurricanes make flowers grow.” The hopefulness in this imagery–that even things considered “natural disasters” or often “destructive forces” can bring change is beauty is powerful – and highlights that change is often not without struggle but worth it in the end. Keep up the amazing writing. I look forward to reading more.

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