It is October. We are supposed to be finished with thunderstorms. I was unprepared for the thunder and lightning that is more appropriate for a midsummer evening (though to be honest the day was like a summer day with temps nearly at 80F). I had been distracted preparing dinner and didn’t register the far off rumble. Or maybe it wasn’t a distraction but rather a misdirection – I heard rumbling and just thought a big truck had come down the main drag not too far away. The loud clap of thunder startled me. I was shocked. A storm? Now? A quick check through the blinds revealed the dark ominous clouds rolling in. The wind was pulling leaves from the trees and chasing them all over the place! It was at that point that I realized that Sparky and Mochi had gone out for their evening constitutional. Glancing out the front door, I could see them racing against the coming rain. Mochi is not a big dog and her legs were a blur as they jogged down the street. I kept thinking Sparky would pick her up and run but he didn’t. Instead they made it just barely before the first drops of rain but not before the lightning. Poor Mochi was a little traumatized by the noise but a few choice dog treats and a trip to the Sunday Ice Cream gathering made her a happy dog!
I was inspired to write a Skinny poem. This form was created by Truth Thomas and consists of 11 lines. The first and last lines have the same words but can be rearranged. Lines 2 through 10 are composed of single words with the constraint that lines 2, 6, and 10 be the same word. There is no restriction on topic or rhyme.
Dark clouds coming
Storms
Night
Walking
Stalking
Storms
Flash
Lightning
Frightening
Storms
Clouds coming dark
A Different Perspective 
I watched the storm and enjoyed the lightning display on my patio. So sorry for your pup’s discomfort, though.
I really love autumn!
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I was just surprised that we had a thunderstorm! She bounced back more quickly than usual. I assume it was because she didn’t have any windup and it was over very quickly!
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I’m so glad Mochi wasn’t more “shocked”! And Sparky too! I love this poem and style, Val {just as I love you}. We are supposed to have storms here today and tomorrow. We need so much rain, however. Thank you for sharing your gift of words. 💛🍁🍂
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Thanks tons Karla! This form is a fun one to write as it requires you to get down to the bare minimum to convey your intent and action! No storms predicted today (or yesterday either – ha!) but tomorrow they are calling for rain all day and most of the night!! I’m tickled that these words have found you and brightened your day!! ❤
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You’re welcome my friend! 💛🍁🍂
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😀 ❤
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I know the suddenness of that feeling. Well captured . (K)
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Thank-you bunches! It was a very quick but turbulent storm… Mochi didn’t even have time to get all frazzled. Of course a favorite snack took her mind off the storm and it was over before she realized it!!
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light showers here this morning. Glad I didn’t call the lawn folks.
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Today is dry and warm and already the whole neighborhood is out raking and planting and generally doing all the outside chores for winterizing! Sparky is supposedly finishing the fence and doing a final lawn mowing… but I’m not going to ask about progress since he was making growling noises trying to assemble the new gate!
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today Wil is making growling noise but doing nothing but showing distaste to me as I sat a bowl down to loud.
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Oh no. I hope his temper improves! My sister’s MIL is living with them now as her dementia is so bad that she just couldn’t manage living alone. She gets into moods and it is nearly impossible to figure out what will trigger her “big grump”. She once refused to come to dinner because my sister had asked if she wanted help opening the sliding door (it is very heavy and sometimes suctions itself to the door jam). She said “NO! I can do it myself!” Then after 10 minutes of trying to open it gave up and pouted for the rest of the night…
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There is no figuring out, trick is learning to walk away and chances are in 5 minutes they forget.
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I guess patience is the most important tool you have!! ❤
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– since my return to my live-in trailer in England 3 days ago, I have had 2 days when for hours it was not safe to even step outside: would have gotten soaked to the skin immediately, rain proofs safely hung in the shed 😉 ,- with little chance to dry clothes even though for October it is fairly mild still. Luckily, today it seems a bit more stable incl forecast – so I can get on with unpacking.
Changes on weather patterns undeniable, my core interest remains human consciousness, although I do sign petitions on environmental issues as well. Btw, my email inbox is increasingly overflowing with petitions – is this just the madness in the UK or going on elsewhere as well?
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We’ve already had snow but today it is downright hot! Rain for tomorrow but dry today… I’ve signed petitions online then came the barrage of solicitations for money and to sign more petitions! I’ve blocked and deleted them and now don’t sign any petitions online. Now if someone comes to the door I can gently decline or sign if I feel it is a cause I’m passionate about – provided they don’t sell my name to some other entity!
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thanks Muri – you have given me the idea for the way forward – I do want to sign some, so I just need to go through the last 100 emails and thin out/block the ones I don’t want. The only ones that want money are the ones coming after signature ‘this petitioner still needs your help…’ – they get deleted straight away. Glad we both seem to have brighter weather,
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Glad to help! October is close to ending and still trying to decide if it is summer or fall!
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Glad Mochi got over the first shock of thunder and lightning OK. Maya doesn’t seem bothered by it, but she is picking up on the change of atmosphere, so she’s a good weather radar! I discovered today she doesn’t like getting her feet wet as she had been trying to go to one side on our walk this morning, but then she walked round a puddle, so I eventually understood!
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Mochi is very cat like – hates to get her feet wet but doesn’t mind a bath at all!! So much better than Ranger. He would howl and act like he was being tortured just because we poured warm water over his back end (which was where he was the dirtiest)!
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This is a new one to me, Muri – perfect for Twitter poetry, actually! Also, I’m glad Mochi is okay 🙂
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Thanks David! Mochi is fine. This form is a fun one to do because it is so condensed and requires you to be concise! Since I don’t tweet or twitter (because I’m not a twit) it never occurred to me that it would work on that platform… Can you tell I’m not a fan of Twitter??
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Oh, nice new form! A skinny poem. Looks interesting! Thanks for introducing me to this form. What could I write a skinny poem about??? Cake?
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Hehe! Oh the irony! But if cake is what the muse wants then cake she should have! There is no restriction on topic or theme for the Skinny…
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Oh Mochi, Bear feels your pain. Tell your female human she’s written a really good poem.
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Hehe! Mochi is being shy (and she is wrapped up in her fleece blanket so doesn’t want to come to the computer). She understands how Bear must feel. She is of course much smaller and was easily distracted by treats! She really likes the Canine Carry-Outs in Chicken flavor and even the smell of the treat sends her brain into summersaults. So she didn’t suffer much anxiousness for very long! She also has her VetriScience brand Composure Chews that are a calming supplement for dogs. They work fairly well but they need to be given about a half hour before the stressful event occurs… Not always easy to predict. Glad you like the poem!
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Martha here. Where do you get those chews? Summer will be back and sometimes I have had to give Bear a prescription tranquilizer. 😦
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I got mine at Chewy.com but they have them at Petco (but cost more). I haven’t been to PetSmart but they probably have them there… They work for some but not all dogs. Depends on the situation.
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I’ll look for it on Chewy. thank you!
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I hope it helps for Bear… It helps if I not only give Mochi the chews but also distract her with activity she enjoys – food and brushing and lots of petting.
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Thank you!
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You are very welcome!
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I am glad you received moisture. We are so dry we would take feet upon feet of snow at this point.
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Yikes! We are kind of soggy here. It is cutting short the fall colors!
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Oh no. Our colors have been beautiful.
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The leaves went from green to sort of yellow-green to brown on almost all the trees in the neighborhood. There are a few that are a bright yellow-orange but not many… and the wind has stripped off many of the leaves. It is cloudy and a misty rain is falling. At least the piles of leaves are soggy and not blowing around!!
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Our soggy leaves would be blowing. Awful winds here lately. Chances of rain tomorrow.
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That is windy!!
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It has been. At least today is better.
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That’s a start!
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It is.
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❤
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Time is sick. Where are the seasons?
Last Sunday afternoon we had a real tornado with a massive hailstorm. Flowers still in full bloom like dahlias have been broken
A village near Amiens was devastated
I understand your frighteness of the storms, Val.
Love ❤
Michel
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Tornados in October!!! That just doesn’t sound normal at all! I hope there wasn’t any loss of life – all else can be replaced… When I was about 3 yrs old a tornado dropped a tree on out house – smashed the front porch. Ever since that time I’ve been anxious during severe storms. I’m sorry your flowers were damaged by the storm though if that is the worst of it, you escaped!! Stay safe ❤ !
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I LOVE this post. We seldom get thunderstorms, or storms of any kind, and your description had me reliving my summer visits to Michigan. I was there one summer when Holland was hit by a terrific storm. It rocked the motor home in which I was “safely” snuggled, beneath the hardwood forest, at Ottowa Beach. I thought it was normal and calmly slept through it. Ignorance is bliss!
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Yikes! I’d rather be in a ditch than a motor home during a tornado!! But at least the tires were insulation against lightning strikes! I’m glad you loved this one – I’ve had my fill of storms. It rained all day today. Walking to my car I was drenched – even wearing a rain coat and having an umbrella! The rain was coming down in sheets and being driven nearly horizontal by the wind. I came home and had to change all my clothes – including the underwear! I’m hoping tomorrow is dry!!
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I like the skinny verse, Val. Glad the thunderstorm was too short to traumatize Mochi.
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Punam the Skinny is a fun one! I’ve used it before but decided that it worked with this subject… I think many of the forms are better suited to enhance a poem when you use specific topics.
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Now that you mention, I remember you had used it before. I agree, a poetic form comes to life depending on the topic.
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I think the last time I used the skinny my topic wasn’t showcased by the form…
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We’ve had a few storms like that. Very unusual for this time of year
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The weather is wacky – they had tornados in England! In OCTOBER!
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Another interesting form Val..we’ve also had several storms over the whole month of October..there were floods too and recently an earthquake though we are a far from the center.
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Of all the things that we have in the middle of America, earthquakes aren’t one of them!! Hope you and yours are safe and dry!!
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We have had an unusually rainy October and November. but it comes in one or two days, followed by several dry days.
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We could do with some dry days – it rained all day. The up side is that most of the snow has been disolved!
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