Yeah, I've been quiet to near vanished on here as of late...but after a night like last night, posting pretty well on every board I'm on, been on or ever thought to go to for the sake of nerve settling. For what has me so rattled; the poem will suffice. A bit of a 'true story' one for how this last night was just spent.
If you've never experienced a series of tornado warnings and the 'joy' of cowering in your own hallway when you'd normally be asleep listening to one siren after another go off to announce the arrival of each tornado- here y'go. A little peek into it; maybe you never know it first hand.
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Tornado Night
Darkness closes in, pressing;
Off somewhere distant a siren cries.
Hands curl together, trembling;
Breath coming only in shaky sighs.
Gentle pattering of rain belies the fact;
Every gust of wind renews the fear;
In the heart of one beneath the mattress stack,
That from gust to howl they will soon hear.
Breathlessly whispered is a prayer,
Murmured without name or direction,
As fingers clench in sweat dampened hair,
A plea for safety, for divine intervention.
Again and again comes the siren call,
Harder the figure trembles in dubious safety,
Hidden within a crowded hall,
Wondering if tomorrow she will see.
Distance a new sound comes,
A train's sudden, noisy wail-
Upon the roof the rain softens its thrums;
Once more a patter rather than hail.
Out of the cocoon does she at last creep,
The storm gentled though still there;
Yet late though it is, she shall not sleep;
Only sit by the window with a frightened stare.