ode to the midwestern storm

ode to the midwestern storm: written in response to the "storms" that we have here in NC (specifically to the one we had last night)
by Katie Chen

I miss the midwestern storm that you can see
faintly, off in the distance and you can watch,
as it barrels closer and closer until you can hear
the whisper of the trembling thunder.

It lands on you with a hardness
constant and abusive
making the trees sway to breaking,
the rain drop like glass shards,
and your heart freeze within your being.

Will the house hold?
Will the windows crumble?
Will lightning strike? Streets flood?
Tornado hit?

The thunder cracks and growls
filling your ears and mind
until all other thoughts
have been pushed out.

Everything shakes, but you
must sit still and wait. Sleep.
In the morning will come the quiet,
the calm, the cool breeze, bird song,
and a lack of memory in all things around
you, for what came the night before.

It's really been THAT long since I last posted???

I've been out. I quit my job and moved out of my apartment a month early and jumped into a car that was driven all the way around the country. Currently, I am in North Carolina, with a plane ticket back to the Twin Cities in a couple of days. I'm sure I'll see a few of you while I'm back. Sadly, I do not have the means to post any of the art from this past month (yes, there actually was so me productivity!) but the artwork will be posted soon. As will the photos. In the meantime, enjoy this totally random poem that I wrote in a fit of boredom when I had a few days to myself in Montara Bay. It's not good...I've never said that I was a good poet, in fact, it may not even be a poem, but rather a list of things I saw that day. Whatever, it's all I have, so here it is:

Bad Poem
By Katie Chen

Rocks
Seals
Dolphins
Basil
Baskets
Sky
Sliver
Blood
Owls

That's all folks! See you soon!