Storm Warnings

The glass has been falling all the afternoon,
And knowing better than the instrument
What winds are walking overhead, what zone
Of grey unrest is moving across the land,
I leave the book upon a pillowed chair
And walk from window to closed window, watching
Boughs strain against the sky

And think again, as often when the air
Moves inward toward a silent core of waiting,
How with a single purpose time has traveled
By secret currents of the undiscerned
Into this polar realm. Weather abroad
And weather in the heart alike come on
Regardless of prediction.

Between foreseeing and averting change
Lies all the mastery of elements
Which clocks and weatherglasses cannot alter.
Time in the hand is not control of time,
Nor shattered fragments of an instrument
A proof against the wind; the wind will rise,
We can only close the shutters.

I draw the curtains as the sky goes black
And set a match to candles sheathed in glass
Against the keyhole draught, the insistent whine
Of weather through the unsealed aperture.
This is our sole defense against the season;
These are the things we have learned to do
Who live in troubled regions.

-Adrienne Rich

*********************************************

A year ago today an F-4 tornado hit this town
and left behind a swath of destruction and an outpouring
of kindness from the community for those who had lost
everything in a matter of seconds. Miraculously, no one
died though a few people were severely injured.

I'll not forget that day, the warnings beeping on my computer
every 15 minutes or so all day long, going to get my son
from school and bringing him home where he would
ride the storm out, without me, in a basement totally
black at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Thankfully my neighbors were home and knew they
needed to come over and get in the basement, so he
wasn't alone.

But I didn't know that. I had gone back to work as there
were still just watches in the area. I had only been back 20
minutes or so when the tornado hit.

Wes called and told me he was heading to the basement
because it was getting very dark and he heard a strange
sound--like a train far away.

His voice started to sound worried and then he said,
"Mom, someone's in the house" and we lost connection.

I was beside myself. By that time, the sirens were going off
and I couldn't leave work. By the time I could leave work,
there were no phone services available at all. It seemed
like it took an eternity for me to get home.

When I got home, I found him sitting on the back steps.
He said, "I'm glad to see you, Mom. Are you ok?"

We were without power all night that night. The rain kept
pouring. At about 5 or so, I realized Mom and Dad were
on the side of town that got hit hard. They had decided
to leave their home and go to the VFW. The bar is below
ground level, so they felt better about being there than
in their home beneath the staircase.

It took me nearly 45 minutes to get to them (about 3
miles from here). Power lines were down everywhere,
people were trying to get out of their demolished homes
or into their neighborhoods to see if they still had a home.
Emergency crews were all over the place--fire trucks,
ambulance, police cars, etc.



It's raining today and we have thunderstorm warnings,
but it doesn't look like we're going to have tornadic
activity.

**********************************************

So much has changed in a year.


How I wish I could get in my car now
and go get my dad and take him home.