Life Of Clouds Poem by Elizabeth Shield

I lift my eyes, to raining skies
And chance to see a single cloud
Halfway between heaven and earth
Racing across the dove gray space
Chasing the light that lingers there

It is a race too close to call
Between the cloud and still blue sky
Though the wind is picking up
Its clear to me, there soon will be
A single cloud in endless night

Though the gap is very small
Between the cloud and sunny blue
It seems the destination is like
The opposite shore, to a sinking ship
Too close to miss, too far to reach

I understand, the cloud, like me
Is standing on, some forgotten shore
Out of reach to all it loves
Straining for the promised land
And always falling far to short

The treasure, as always, is hidden away
I don’t have a map to find it with
I'm always running, reaching out
For a prize I cannot win
To fill a need I cannot fill

The dove gray cloud, has crossed the sky
I know not if it won or lost
Its race to catch the dying sun
And yet I stand here thinking aloud
Are we, in some ways, like that cloud?