Sitting on the deck
Hot humid afternoon
Gin and tonic
Melting fast

A whisper of a breeze
Begins

Approaching thunderstorms
What did my Grandma say
Too much wind to be any rain
But at least cool air

I walk down to the lake
To see the show

The deep water has gone dark
Reflecting the trees
A green that is closer to black

And clouds too
More black than grey
With El Greco tumult
Making them boil
Like Shirley Temple’s hair

Some bird
A tiny speck moving closer
To ride these wild currents
As they increase speed across the open lake
Then meet with the huge trees on the far shore  
And burst upward
Giving awesome power beneath the wings

Ecstatic over this opportunity
He whirls and twirls
Others join him
They cannot contain their joy

Then like all things
This too is gone
Normality returns

But in those dying breaths I swear an oath
I shall remember this