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Thunderstorm

The best light and sound shows
Are free

Forked plasma arcs
Across the heads of purple clouds

Cumulonimbus screens
The high-voltage displays

Mushrooms lit up from within
Striated and variegated

Reaching into space
Simultaneously touching the ground

Then the thunder rolls
Like Thor's chariot

Like God's own bowling team
Like an avalanche of boulders

Some thunder is almost gentle
Far off and whispering

More felt and guessed at
Than heard

Some thunder is like pistol crack
Jolting, loud, and deafening

As I listen to the sound
And see the light through tightly-closed eyelids

My body tenses
As if charged by the lightning in the air

The strobe flashes
The thunder peals

I snuggle down deeper into my bed
And wait for it to pass

Terrified
But thrilled

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