Great Blue in the Rain

Thunder pulled me from my bed

The roar of rain lured me outside

To watch the spectacle of a monsoon

Ozone filled the air under the eave

Mixing with smells of drenched earth

Coffee and bacon

Motel guests sat next to their doorways

Sipping at steaming cups

As they watched the storm.

Sandstone hemmed us inside a Shangri-La

Of oxidized reds, herbal greens, and cobalt skies

Now shrouded in roiling clouds

Bunched and heaving

In a palette of grey to mauve to black

Lightning flashed all around

Warning us to shelter from its wrath

We obeyed willingly, thrilled just to gaze.

Then, just as casual as you please

A Great Blue Heron glided over the willows

Crossing a valley filled with rage

The bird seems unconcerned

Its legs stretched backward like allerons

Guiding it through a steady flight

Amid the tumult

Of a summer shower gone mad.