The power is not out
You made it. Hell of a drive.
Now in the cabin you’re shivery, raw.
Floorboards tremble.
Branches pelt the roof.
Rain blows under the door.
Phone? Lamp? Radio?
All wires, dead.
You fetch wood,
build a fire, heat water,
light lanterns named Aladdin.
Play guitar, help the neighbor start her car.
Clinging to this mountain
your cabin is a spot of warm
in a dark storm.
You are power.
…..
From my book Random Saints
First published in Califragile
Photo by Simon Goetz
Note: I wrote this long ago — the Aladdin lamps date it. My lamps today are battery-operated. But we still have storms, lose electricity, trees still fall here in La Honda. Neighbors still help neighbors. Humane power.
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