Musings on the Distant Storm

We had lightning and thunder last night!!! What a treat!

Striking the earth

with power uncomparable.

 

Left-over tendrils of light

spark and dance

on the darkened, bulging surface.

 

Shattering the dome of the heavens

for brief, breathless moments,

with pure, harsh power.

 

Accenting the stormy architecture

with sparks of magnificence.

 

Booming and crashing

like the footsteps of the gods themselves.

Deep echoes rebound off

the rainy, grey hills to the North.

 

Splitting the sky

like cracks in a pane of dark glass.

 

The mists split the brilliance,

white into cool, soothing colors:

 

Soft jade, pale blue topaz, fresh lavender.

 

Its dazzling corona fills the sky.

 

Like thrusts of starry spears,

wielded by heavenly warriors of light.

 

Without the cloak of rain,

the strikes of infinite power

induce awe and inspiration

in all who see their refined Fire.

 

Creating definition in the usually formless mass

of blurring grey fog in the sky.

 

Forming a searing pathway through the clouds.

 

Arching and splitting

as roots of a celestial tree.

 

A mighty, flashing dragon,

cutting through the silence of the night.

 

Bringing glimpses of daylight

in the midst of night.

 

City lights black out,

leaving only the indigo curtain

and the glowing bolts of energy.

 

Sudden growling rattling the window frame.

 

The spectacular flashes, beautiful as they are,

leave a lingering sadness

that each flare is so brief.

 

A warm, comforting silence

pervades the air around me

as I come back to myself,

interrupted only by the frequent thunder

of the distant storm.

Author's Note

As always, feel free to critique. Also, this poem is supposed a be a bunch of little phrases. I wasn't trying to combine them in any way. I just wrote them as I watched the lightning (a first for me, actually. Usually I remember it later or imagine it myself when writing.)

Reviews

[Michael X]

Impressive metaphorical imagery.. to ponder the distant thunder in full color..and its effects on the mind
as well as emotion.. as storms have ways of creating an ambience that sweeps the imagination as if peering through the window's glass is looking into another world..another place and time that carries the soul..
with its overwhelming powers and impressions, you put this writing together with angles and abstractions
lends very well to the overall depiction of what a thunderstorm is when facing the horizon.Thanks

[Emily B]

I love the power of the storm. When I was a little girl we used to often have "heat lightning"; no rain involved. I couldn't count the number of times I was called back in the house away from the impending threat of thunder and lightning and wind. There is something about the distant storm for all of us, I guess.

[Wildfleour]

You have some moments of great imagery here, Justin. Nice.

[Mary Sessions]

great work! i loved the lines:
Arching and splitting

as roots of a celestial tree.

this poem really painted a picture in my head of the storm last night. this is a beautiful peice!

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

Shattering the dome of the heavens

Splitting the sky
like cracks in a pane of dark glass.
Like thrusts of starry spears,

wielded by heavenly warriors of light.

The above lines are the best. I'm in NY was it the same storm. I live in the basement, so I could hear the storm, the thunder, pounding rain and the lightening I couldn't see it. But I know what you felt, it makes us so small when you see the light show God gives us.

This has nice visual effect here.

[Mary]

I live in Florida, where thunderstorms are quite frequent, and I think you captured it beautifully! Especially the nighttime thunderstorms which have a whole different personality than daytime thunderstorms.
My favorites:
"City lights black out,
leaving only the indigo curtain"

and:

"Sudden growling rattling the window frame."


Beautiful job!