8/7/24

8/7/24
The downdraft of last night’s storm
partnered a terrific tarantella with the trees.
The sky turned black, the wind 
howled in powerful gusts.
Then the slashing downpour 
we had hoped would happen
turning our brown lawns green again.
Others lost power but not where I live.

Had it been us years ago on the mountain
we would have been prepared to be off grid.
Five-gallon containers filled with fresh water, 
LED lanterns, a windup radio with a built-in phone charger,
a woodstove, a gas stove
that, lacking an electric spark, would light
with wooden matches, 
eating food from the fridge freezer first,
laying plenty of insulation over food in the chest freezer-
checking that all was well with the horses, sheep and chickens-
that was what you were born to manage.

As the days of the internet grew into necessity
we knew all the places in town that would be restored first.
Driving with our phones and computers we
connected to family, friends, and clients 
outside the library, at the edge of town
or behind certain homes on the side streets.

Today the morning broke partly sunny and calm. 
No damage that I could see when I got outside.
Tomorrow would have been our 54th wedding anniversary.
Today I dance a sedate waltz of memories
that sweetens my heart, and I imagine yours
to know that I am well and safe as are
our daughters and grandsons
in this violent stormy beautiful world 
we live in.