the real danger

been around long enough to knowthat summer meansa day that starts as clear as waterby afternoon can birth a stormto tear down walls andwash out foundations,and by the time the sky gets dark,ain’t nothin’ you can dobut watch long enough to know the blue Adirondacks on my front porch aren’t set back quite far enough to keep my paper dry

long enough to know

that still, the wind in my front tree

is ‘bout the prettiest sound

and sight I've ever known

been around long enough to know

that most days all that rain

and thunder makes for a pretty good show;

the real danger never arrives

with the storm– it’s always already here:

stubborn trees

that refuse to bow in the wind

saturated ground

that cannot take more rain

poem and photo (c) 2016 D. Ohlandt

please only reprint in entirety and with credit given

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