Lightning

When we first moved here

We weren’t prepared

For the way that it rains

The way the sky splits open

And just pours out water

Giant splattering drops

That sound like hail on the roof

 

And the lightning and thunder

That come without pause

Making you a child

Equal parts amazed and terrified

 

We got caught in a lightning storm

Biking to the pool

Which had just closed

Due to the weather

Other people saw what was coming

On the way home it descended all together

The soaking rain

Lightning that cracked in blinding flashes

And thunder that rolled directly behind it

Without any counting of one thousands

First we tried to out-bike it

Then we huddled under a tree in mute terror

 

A family kindly invited us inside

And we stood, dripping rivulets onto their floor

Apologizing while they brought us towels

The towels were fresh and white

Like from a hotel

The stairs were tiled with beautiful

Blue and white Spanish tile

 

We made polite conversation

Waiting for the storm to pass

But lightning kept coming in the same blinding flashes

Finally the man drove one of us

To get our car

We herded the children in

Drove them home

Dried them off

And watched the storm continue

From the silence and privacy of home

 

A classmate of mine was killed by lightning

A round-faced boy

With spiky hair

Ruddy cheeks and lively eyes

Who did what the teachers said

Only when it pleased him

At a summer camp in the mountains

Lightning struck a tree

Traveled along the ground

And killed him instantly

As he sat on a picnic bench

 

I don’t know if my fear of lightning

Is shaped by his story

Or if it’s the raw animal fear

We’re all born with