Pinpricks Of

 

Storm clouds gather;
the darkened sky fosters thoughts of night
The thunder
of destruction
I picture meteors
wheeling through space
spinning and hurtling
I recall being a child, and hearing a description, Biblical,
of the end of days;
The sky falling
stars, in their terrible brilliance,
raining down towards earth
I thought
“If that is the last thing I see,
how beautiful.”
Later
the awe was replaced with a respectful shiver
“Maybe both beautiful and frightening,”
I admitted, uneasily

 
Watching the storm
I was put back into my 11-year-old self
The wonder and fear
the feeling of grandeur, then of smallness
How slight I was, how young
I feared lightning strikes
feared tornadoes
knew the sky could breed destruction
yet loved the rain
Was fascinated by the thought of falling stars
of seeing the end of the earth
with an innocent curiosity
for whatever would come next

 
Twenty-five years later
I’ve added a whole slew of fears and wonders
to my internal index
I still love petrichor
(the smell of rain)
still admire and fear lightning
Yet also thrill to charge towards my fears
of seeing what I can take, or what takes me
So when I think of storms and meteors and falling skies
of whatever is on life's horizon
there’s a shiver, but it’s good
I may not know what comes next
But with anticipation, like rumbling thunder
I feel a standing-on-tiptoe-thrill
to wait and see.