FLASH
CRACKLE
CRASH
BANG
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
LIGHTNING
I sloshed the night darkening path,
Running before a storm,
Drenched in the drunken rainstorm,
The smell of ozone in the air,
I winced and hurried and hovered,
With strikes ever so closer and near,
Gaining on my quickened pace,
Chasing! Chasing me,
Up! Up! Up!
Up storm darkened drenched,
Secluded mountain path,
Closer and closer,
The hair on my arm lightening lifting,
With electric anticipation,
Closer as I counted,
Now but one boooming second,
Not like ten far away,
Not even five for a mile,
But a simultaneous,
FLASH! BAM!
As lightning struck,
It’s fright-raising strike,
It’s staccatoed-jagged FLASH,
Revealing the safe haven nearby cave,
BANG! FLASH, CRACKLE, CRASH!
Lightning lighting the spooky forest,
Where swaying trees seemed alot alive,
Lightning lighting lightening my heavy load.
Blaze away you gnarly storm,
Me safe in my cave hide.
FLASH! Crackle! BAM! BOOM, Booom, Boom, boom, rumble.
Authors Note: True Story. I was caught in a furious lightning storm on foot coming up the backside of Monte Sano Mountain, in Huntsville, Alabama. Sitting there on Lookout Rock overlook, some six miles into Monte Sano State Park, I spied in the distance an ominous blackened storm heading my way and decided to make haste down the mountain and up the backside toward home on the city side. In those days, I could run marathons in the mountains, uninhibited by old age. I could trail run - Yes. But not outrun Nature. The storm ventured closer and nearer and closer and closer as I sprinted best I could up a steep, narrow, rain-slicked pathway up the backside of Monte. I counted off the seconds, panting furiously, starving for air, frightened, striving for the caves, just up from the Natural Well. The storm caught me, as if to say, you can’t outrun, outfox, outfrick Mother Nature. With fifty yards to go and down to three seconds - FLASH, BAM! CRACKLE, KABOOM! hitting all round me. I dove into the safety of the caves. Looking back at the stuccato flash against the storm darkened trees, I understood the nature of Nature. We are but tiny creatures in a vast cosmic universe and only one step from oblivion. Don’t frick with Mother Nature!
Assured and safe, outta the rainstorm, booming now becoming distant, I happened to gaze to my right just over my shoulder at the second cave‘s opening. There a bandit raccoon was staring at me as if to say, “Good work, fella!” It was a tad soggy too.
I asked Monte. Monte Sano😎
tom tenbrunsel
Poet Laureate of Monte Sano
Comments