I stroll up to the flashes of lightning
the rain pounding on my face
the thunder roaring in the sky
and laugh in his face.
"You cannot scare me!
With your loud roars
that arouse the Earth,
makes her tremble and quake
and your bright flashes of light,
those sparks of electric air!
You cannot strike me!
Bolts of lightning, bah!
You don't scare me."
And the lightning replied,
"Do you think that is my goal?
Do you think I spend my time
wishing fear upon others?
It is no problem of mine
that plenty of easily frightened children
hide beneath their bedsheets
of childish lace and frills
at the mere mention of me.
It is no problem of mine
that mans best friend
cowers beneath table tops
tail tucked between his legs
feeling only submission and fear
at the mere sound of me.
No, fearless man,
that was never my plan.
I am not trying to scare you!
I am a part of this storm,
blown in from distant lands
by the whims of divine hands.
And if you should happen
upon my path,
I will strike you down
with this godly power.
No, as long as you stay
out of my way,
you need not fear me."
"But how will I stay
out of your way,
if I cannot tell
where next you will be?"
"Your guess
is as good
as mine."
And the lightning
thundered upon his way,
striking where he may,
and I went home
where I dwelled alone,
and hid in my bed.
But I feared not the lightning, no.
What I feared
was the very nature
of nature itself;
that which I (a mere man)
could not control –
unpredictability.