Struck - May 4 2024

 

Struck

May 4 2024

You never wake up

thinking this is the day.

Because life happens in the moment.

Because even though it usually doesn’t

change comes in a thunderclap,

no telling when, or where.

Except that either way

you have no say,

while the gods laugh among themselves

and no one else cares.

Thunder

   —  when charges equalize,

lightning arcs,

and superheated air

explosively expands

at 340 metres a second;

a shock wave of sound

that slams you like a body blow.

Who knew

lightning travelled up, not down;

from the ground

and into the clouds.

At least, standing out in the storm

you can hear it coming

from a long way away,

the sound

getting closer to the light

until it happens all at once.

Not so the car

coming head on;

when you turned to your right

to flash her a smile,

wavering over the line

just enough.

Shit happens, the gods laugh. 

Nevertheless, we cleave to the illusion of control. Because without it, life would be unbearable.