The outriders are beginning to gather in the grey evening sky
God bless these outriders
A futile moth flits simply between the darkening flowers
God bless this futile moth
The trees are wandering now within the traffic of a cooling breeze
God bless these trees
I am feverish and am sitting on a low bench shaded by a high hedge
There is a silence in the air
The cornfields to my right seem undisturbed
They appear ready for the storm
The hills to my left are shrouded in the rain mists
And only the low meadows are visible
I am awaiting the first droplet of rain
Hoping that it will cool my fever
Violent thunderstorms were noted as they crossed both the southern and south western counties of England on the evening of the 18th of July 2017
The author who had been laid low with a fever wrote this poem in the garden of his cottage before being forced to take refuge from the aggressive storm