We are not this wind

this wind 
is destructive 
slips under siding 
pulls tiles from roofs 
tosses patio tables and RVs 
like empty plastic bags 

this wind 
is devastating 
drops branches onto cars 
knocks trees into buildings 
blows through windows—flinging 
javelins of glass 

this wind 
is disaster-making 
rips communities apart 
sets neighbor against neighbor 
for a share 
of an inadequate pie 

this wind is weather—but we are climate 

we are 
the heat 
held under the desert 

we are 
the humidity 
saved by the rainforest 

we are 
the stabilizing mass 
of the constant ocean 

we are the air 
we are the moisture 
we are the earth 

and we shall not be moved 

by Gale Naylor