Image by Illustrator John Howe
riding within the ‘so called’
safety of the car
grey clouds hanging in
thick air as though
calling
with the promise of
lightning strikes
sky electric
followed by the distant
rumbling of thunder
clapping
bird song has left the
air currents
relishing the safety of
leafy boughs or
twig filled nests
brings back to my mind
a girl standing in
awe in front of a
living room window
no fear
watching the light show
waiting for the far
away sound of someone
bowling?
could it be the friends of
Rip Van Winkle playing
nine-pins in the
Catskill Mountains…
maybe
her imagination carried
adrift with glory
lightning strikes on
a summer’s afternoon
a childhood story
© July 2012 Renee Espriu
We have been having some odd weather lately as has been most of the entire earth and thunder and lightning storms, some without rain, (prevalent and common where I grew up in California) now here in Washington. While out today the sky was brilliant and I thought of one of my favorite stories “Rip Van Winkle” written by author Washington Irving in 1819. As a child when I looked at the sky lit up by lightning my mind just knew it was the men Rip met in the Catskills playing nine-pins. I never feared but as a child that is so much a part of growing up.
reneejustturtleflight.com 
it brought some childhood images to me….the feeling is one which will remain forever….Nice poem…..loved the lines…
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Thank you and for visiting!
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nice…has brought back some childhood memories as well… never heard about rip van winkle but def. have to check… and yeah..the weather’s kinda crazy…we had quite some serious hailstorms over here this summer…damaged my car..ugh..
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Washington Irving is an American author that wrote short stories and typically they were what you would call ‘folk lore’. I can’t remember how old I was when I heard this…quite young I think…but whenever I heard thunder I thought of the little men in the mountains bowling. You can find out all about the author and his works online at Wikipedia or other sites. Sorry to hear about the auto. Not good at all.
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We are starting to see the product of our endless pilfering and tampering with Mother nature. When you think also Renee, that many large governments are trying to ‘control’ the upper ionosphere with Electromagnetic sound waves to wage secret weather wars on other countries, it has to make you wonder, doesn’t it? When over 5,000 birds suddenly fall from the sky for no apparent reason but, are all traumatised, it has to be some type of noise they could hear which we can’t. Same goes for hundreds of whales and fish beaching themselves. We are messing with things we didn’t ought to be messing with and now, we are starting to see its effects.
Very vivid imagery Renee.
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Yes, our weather conditions are changing alot and from one day to the next it is always something it seems. I do hope you are have sweltering heat where you are. We have been lucky, really, as the Summer hasn’t been much of a Summer but at least not too hot. Thank you for your comment, Bren.
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I, too, love thunderstorms with lightening – except I haven’t been able to enjoy them for the last ten years because our 55lb shepherd/collie mix dog is terrified of storms and most of my time is spent calming her down!
Really liked your poem!
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Whoa! No small potatoes, your doggy friend. But, I think, the bigger the dog sometimes the more afraid they seem to be of some things. It is the tiny dogs that think they are mighty and can take on the world. Thank you for visiting.
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same here. darkest clouds are gathering and leaving without much rain. loved the poem, the illustration is beautiful.
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Thank you! I don’t mind the sky with such wonderful performances but it would be nice to have a bit more Summer as I’m sure you could you more rain.
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