Irish Weather Forecasters

While some appear apologetic, and others defensive,

even defiant to the point of alarming

with gritted teeth and threatening brow

and a tone that defies contradiction

(latter day Cassandras, endowed

 with the gift of prophecy but fated

 never to be believed) 

there's something reassuring about Joanna Donnelly.

Whether she's forecasting an approaching hurricane

with a Saffir-Simpson wind scale of 3 to 4

or weather warnings: red, orange or yellow

or fronts passing in and across and out, 

or hazy sunshine followed by persistent rain...

you almost feel like thanking her for it.

And when she says,"Whatever you had today

you'll have more of the same tomorrow,"

with a shrug that adds,"Suck it up!"

you may as well just order another pint.....

 

Copyright 2024 Cathy Leonard

Water Colour by Marie-Helene Brohan Delhaye Lamb's Head,County Kerry, Sunset  Sky

To Air or not to Air?

 

"It's  more like watching the ads," you say,

"with Olympian breaks in between.

And someone has written to The Times to complain about it!"

And a lot of the ads aren't even themed on sport,

though performance is alluded to, by the by, uneven as it is-

For there's the fellow brandishing the magic duster,

the one with the electromagnetic charge

that grabs and retains dust particles as if they were gold- 

Versus the woman who scent-boosts her shirt instead of washing it,

she can repeat this in training up to a hundred times,

I hope she doesn't, for when it comes to the test

a clean, fresh shirt will surely pip her at the post.

But most of the hype is about spraying rather than airing

so back to that air time where we'd rather be pondering depth

 of field and cadence in stride than Busting the Must-

Though the word cadence, when you look it up, 

comes from cadere meaning to fall

which isn't so great for an Olympian hopeful

for there's no repechage for a DNF...

Copyright 2024 Cathy Leonard