Poems by Nikolas Macioci

Storm Bound

by Nikolas Macioci

From Canary Summer 2020

Nik lives in the historic village of Groveport, Ohio, where he often walks in Heritage Park somewhere near Lock 22, the original site of Groveport's dry dock and boat yard during the Ohio and Erie canal days. He goes often to nearby Palm's Pond to photograph scenery and wildlife and hikes through the park's wooded area back to the Main Street that leads into this picturesque town.

I'm on the front porch in a rocker,
pumping my feet. Clouds black as giant
bears hang overhead. Thunder makes
the sky sound angry as it blurts out
lightning. Mom's voice behind me
says come into the house away from
danger. My deeper impulse defies her,
and I stay in the rocker. The strobes
of lightning continue to create seconds
of amplified daylight. Like a fist
beating on a sheet of metal, thunder
reverberates and the sky pounds
the ground with a downpour. I linger
on the porch as if tied to the storm
by an umbilical cord that feeds me
its fury. When it stops, a nascent glow
highlights leaves, and a red and yellow
sunset tints whole trees. Birds step out
on branches, and the moon at the opposite
end of the sky slowly rises like something
prehistoric shining its white bones.