And the Thunder Rolled

I can always count on my students to provide inspiration for my writing. Combine their natural chattiness with our recent storms and I've found my muse. "I couldn't do my homework because we were in a closet all night," was heard more than once last Friday morning. I didn't do a survey, but jumping in bed with their parents was a pretty common reaction to the thunder and lightning, followed closely by pulling the covers up over their heads. I listened to their harrowing stories and recalled a few of my own. The following poems are my attempt to capture those moments.

Rain

I woke up
Sat straight up in bed
The thunder crashed
Above my head
A few more minutes
Left to sleep,
But I can't keep
My eyelids shut.
There goes another
Rumbling blast
I wish the storm
Would hurry past.
My mother
Never seems to wake
The thunder never
Makes her shake.
I'd run and jump
In bed with Dad,
But it always seems
To make him mad.
Besides, it's dark
Out in the hall
And monsters live
Behind the wall.
So, I'll just stay
Inside my bed
Pull the covers
Up over my head
And hope the sun
Will shine again.


A Windy Night

Last night I was awakened
By the sound of the wind
Rattling the windows
And trying to get in
It moaned and it groaned
And it howled through the night
Huffing and blowing
With all of its might
The floorboards were creaking
Could that be the wind
Or had some other "night thing"
Managed to get in
Curled under the covers
I felt quite secure
But a wee little part of me
Still wasn't sure
That a tree wouldn't crash
Through my bedroom wall
So I crawled out of bed
Tippy-toed down the hall
Jumped into bed
With my dad and my mom
Squeezed safely between them
I felt such a calm
My eyelids got heavy
My heartbeat slowed down
And the next thing I heard
Was a loud ringing sound
It wasn't the wind
But the clock by the bed
I had made it to morning
And I wasn't dead
The wind was still blowing
But not like last night
Amazing how brave
One can feel when it's light.


Weather Watch

I heard the wind
I heard the rain
Going to school
Would be insane

I turned on the TV
I turned it to weather
We wouldn't have school
I was certain; however...

I heard Channel 2
And I heard Channel 4
List Hickman and Rutherford counties,
No more

They didn't say Williamson
They did not say, "Just in,"
They just started listing
The same ones again

I watched as the counties
Kept scrolling by
I watched, and the tears
Welled up in my eyes

I'd be going to school
In spite of the rain
I'd be going to school
No need to complain

The powers that be
Had made their decision
I might as well turn off
This darn television

I'd better get dressed
The bus will come soon
And maybe . . . just maybe
We'll go home at noon.