Reading the Approaching Storm
lightning hands reach from east and west
prying open the book of the sky
the stiff binding crackles as glue breaks
and stitches stretch apart
the storm has written tonight’s story
pages filled with foreign grammar
lines of mysterious script
its tale is dark and short
in the fast flickering illumination
speed-read the phrases
written by the wind and rain
streaked across the yellowed pages
decipher the thunder’s punctuation
for the starts and stops in the story
hurtling your scanning eyes
toward the end of the book
then the last echo of the storm
retreats toward the distant horizon
lightning flashes its hands out
closing the book shut
Pamela Olson, 6/1/09
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