Unwelcome Visitor

What a month!

You can feel me all around you,
you can tell when I am there.
When I visit, I like messing up your hair.

I will make all sorts of mischief,
and I break things. I don’t care.
You don’t see me,  but you know I’m everywhere.

There are times I get so angry,
and I don’t like to play fair.
I’m destructive, and you know I aim to scare.

March is when I go stir crazy—
hold your hat and say a prayer!
When I start to howl, I’m telling you, BEWARE!

Union City, MI EF 3 160 mph tornado, 3/6/2026, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

This has been a month for severe weather in Michigan, including four deadly tornadoes that devastated the southwestern Michigan towns of Union City, Three Rivers and Edwardsburg on March 6.  Fog has been an ongoing phenomenon for the last couple of months, although that seems to have eased up in the last few days.  In upper Michigan, blizzard conditions with 1-3 inches of snow/hour were creating "thunder snow" just yesterday, and so far, parts of the Upper Peninsula have received about 19" of snow, along with winds of up to 60 mph (Sue, if you're reading, I hope Marquette isn't completely buried). For the last three days, the winds here in southeastern Michigan have toppled many trees, damaged buildings, created power outages and hurled dangerous projectiles. Last night, as I coming home late from work, a sudden blast of wind loaded with debris smacked my car, and I wondered briefly if I'd roll over.  I haven't looked for car dents yet, but I would bet there are some!  In Michigan, it seems that the excitement never ends, at least when it comes to the weather. 

This poem utilizes four syllabic tercets, 8/7/11 pattern.  I call them "Roseland tercets," since I made them up, and the pattern comes from a little tune in my head.  The poem would be a little riddle about wind, if not for the pictures. 

Stay safe, wherever you are, and try to make it through March.