The Storm

The Storm

I was on the phone talking
with my brother Dave this
evening about the death of
a friend when the weather
sirens went off. Dave knew
him from their love of
bicycling and I knew
him from our neck ties.
We would often compliment
each other on those ties
at church. Blest be
the ties that bind.
Dave and I said
our good-byes and I went
into the bathroom, my
safe zone, an interior room.
A storm was blowing
through town with 80 mph
winds and intense lightning.
The weather sirens
sounded twice
during that 30 minutes.
The storm is now heading
south, and the late
evening sun is
breaking through the
thin clouds.
Electrical service
is still out, and
several neighbors
are standing on their
decks and patios
discussing the storm.
South of the Target store has
electricity one resident says.
Her boyfriend called her
to check she was okay.
The outage covers the
whole neighborhood
someone else says.
Another neighbor was
showing her young daughter
a rainbow to the east.
Distant thunder still rumbles.
I sat on my ground level
patio and enjoyed
the cooler air thinking
about our friend, and random
droplets making their way down
from the two decks
above landed on me
with small cool jolts.
Later, as dark settled in,
I could see the flashes
of the first lightning
bugs of the year.