Everything's Okay

I watch the flash
And count the seconds
Before the rolling thunder
Washes over me
In the bracket
Between substance
And evidence.

Less than a mile away
Was the origin
Of that mighty bolt
Of white heat
Hotter
Than the sun’s surface.

How many thousands

Heard that same report?
Children crying
Dogs barking
Unnerved by celestial fire
The artillery of angels
Differing in caliber
But all electrifying the skies
In vivid purple
Blue and white blasts.

I pretend interest and amazement

But in truth
I am frightened
As I imagine a corner
In which to shelter
Fingers laced atop my head
As though that would protect me
From the devastation
Forking this three o’clock
In the morning
Barrage.
But I remain in my bed
From sheer will.

My little dog nudges my arm

And I open to him
As he wedges  
Between my body and the sheets
Thinking himself now safe.

I want what he wants.

I want safety
But not merely from
A bolt of lighting
And the howitzer of thunder.

I want protection

From every bolt
Whether meteorological
Or that generated
In my mind and heart.

Mama was either wrong

Or she was simply applying
Parental comfort
All those years ago
When she said
Everything will be okay.

Things do not work out.

All is not well.

Safety is a myth

Told by old women
And sea captains
Trapped in ice fields.
Protection is more hope
Than surety.

So, I count the seconds

Between substance and evidence
And pat the head
Of my shivering dog
Telling him to
Not be silly.

Everything’s okay.