A Dark and Stormy Night

Whenever I think about the night
I can't help recalling Bulwer-Lytton
and the often-quoted opening line
of a novel said to be badly written.

I cannot see why it is abhorrent 
to say that it was a stormy night
and the rain was falling in torrents 
if the sky was black as anthracite 

and there was a steady downpour.
We have to admire his sincerity
asserting the weather was ghastly.
There is no reason at all for hilarity.

Would he have been praiseworthy
if he'd said that the sky was blue
and that there was a brilliant moon
while knowing that it wasn't true?

Of his more memorable quotations,
"the pen is mightier than the sword", 
and "pursuit of the almighty dollar",
are those that will strike a chord.

Meaningful writing is there for all 
the serious scholars to discover.
It shows the veracity of that cliché:
don't judge a book by its covers.
© Luigi Pagano 2021