Storm Watch by Bradley McIlwain
by Jonathon | 8.27.12
for Brian G.
Lightning.
A ghost-like stillness
descends over open
water.
Tornado weather.
From the window
you scramble to
recover the CD’s
and boom box, but
Metallica is already
electrified. Party on,
Garth!
as silhouettes bloom
origami boats
paddling like ants
against the current.
__________________________
Bradley McIlwain will be familiar to WIZards as a previous contributor and Spring Runoff contestant. He lives in Ontario, Canada.
Photo by Robert K. Bonine via Wikimedia Commons.
August 30th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Speaking of paddling ants, once I flicked a black carpenter ant into a pond and it paddled on the surface for awhile. Then, to my surprise it seemed to explode in a kind of chemical scream, spewing a thin layer of oily rainbow-colored stain across the water where it floated, and never moved again. I still feel guilty about causing that creature’s demise, and I’ve often wondered if that is the way of ants when they find themselves in hopeless situations.