[Trevor Conway]

I haven't fully considered all feedback yet, but here is a new version. Stanza break added before last two lines; "they" removed before "amassed"; lines 9 and 11 changed to avoid the weak rhyme highlighted by Glenn.

NEW VERSION:

Once, they simply watched the sky,
the clouds’ dark gestation of rain.
There was little as to the how and why:
they sought to predict, not explain.
Others brooded over wind and sea;
they studied reports across the coast
and made a science of pressure and heat,
sent ambitious balloons afloat.

It somehow became more complex
as they measured the dense data amassed,
divining all the world's effects,
leaving farmers hopeful or aghast.

Now, they measure by laptop light,
and still, they struggle to get it right.


OLD VERSION:

Once, they simply watched the sky,
the clouds’ dark gestation of rain.
There was little as to the how and why:
they sought to predict, not explain.
Others brooded over wind and sea;
they studied reports across the coast
and made a science of pressure and heat,
sent ambitious balloons afloat.

It somehow became a less simple thing
as they measured the dense data they amassed,
divining what the world could bring,
leaving farmers hopeful or aghast.
Now, they measure by laptop light,
and still, they struggle to get it right.