The Perfect Storm

A storm is brewing... If you listen closely Hold your breath Close your eyes Cock your head And…really listen, You’ll hear it – You’ll hear the deafening sound of silence! There’s a reign of hush all over the landscape engulfed in deep shadows, And your heart starts pounding You get a feeling of foreboding, There is no wind No rustling of the leaves, You look up The sky hanging heavy and laden, Thick rolling clouds gray and pregnant with moisture Bursting at the seams— There’s this state of brooding disquietude. Then you hear a slight rustle, Suddenly you look up in time to see a leaf quiver, But again, a breath-taking silence… And then, in the gathering gloom, A blinding lightning, Like someone just flashed a giant camera in your face! For a split second you see all the trees standing dark and hunched over like chained slaves, Standing in a row tired, beat and hopeless of what’s to come next. The earth beneath your feet tremble under an ear-splitting, earth-shattering clap of thunder rumbling like a distant cannon fire. And then like a thousand Niagaras The rain starts bearing down with jihadi fervor water-logging the earth, Like the heavens bursting into tears, Like the ocean caught up in a spasm; Then you understand, you feel, In every pore of your skin, The awesome fury of Nature. ~03/25/16 ~A Storm is Brewing contest by Kelly Deschler