Witnessed
from a Tree-house
&
Aftermath
by Larry Kimmel
And to the west the sky is gunmetal;small rain ahead of storm and Soap Hollow is cast in a steely light; and the wind sweeps the field above the house - flash -; and to the west, a gray curtain moves over the opposite hill - flash -; and to the west, thunder rumbles and the earth thuds - flash-flash -; and wind sweeps the field; and leaves tear off; and branches karack!; and dust swirls from the dirt road below; and a willow by the house frays to strings; and whole patches of grass in the field lie flat, spring back, go flat again; and raindrops pelt the dusty road, sting the woods, drench the field; and wind-blown sheets of rain damp the dust and slap the creek that runs toward Whip-poor-will Falls; and the wind knocks apples from a lone tree; and the woods are whipped about; and thunder cracks and rolls - flash-flash - sharp cracks of thunder - flash - black rolls of thunder; and at the height of the fury, lightning strikes the apple tree--the tree bursts, throwing punk in explosion, exposing yellowish guts; and the earth is dark; and the air is suffocating; and there is chaos within chaos— To
the east, now, the storm has passed over the distant hills and away.
And in the gathering dusk, rain-drops drip through wet trees; great swaths
of grass lie flattened in the field; rillets run in small-scale gulches
over and along the dirt road; and the road is muddy and the air is cool
and new.
What stands of the lightning-struck apple tree stands lopsided and jagged against a swirling charcoal and pearl-gray sky – lurid and lemon-edged to the west. And in the hollow, below, the sound of the swollen river gushing – gushing into night.thrushes curtains billow |
Credits:
"small
rain ahead of storm" -Haiku Headlines: August, 1996
“leaves
of maple” - adapted from Haiku Headlines: June, 1996
"thrushes"
- adapted from Haiku Headlines: April, 1996