The flagpole clanked ceaselessly in the wind like a bell tolling mournfully. 

Complaining was a lot easier than dealing with the problem. 

 I watched a spider crawl across my ceiling and felt no desire to do anything about it. 

Frank's preoccupations, tics, and phobias only grew with age until they consumed most of his free time and even found their way into his dreams. 

The promise of spring was a lie, or so it seemed on that snowy April day. 

 Spending time with her ex gave Erica the same feeling she got wandering around a casino after she'd spent all her money. 

 It's not enough for nature, through storms and fires and earthquakes, to wreak havoc upon us, but humanity (for some reason) feels the need to pile on the ruin to speed things along.