Ahead of the Storm

A Poem for Uncertain Times

Writing is cathartic for me. Poetry is the ultimate expression of how I feel, and today that feeling is anxious but resolute. This poem is a reflection of how many of us are feeling today on election eve. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to share.

Ahead of the Storm

by Dawn Levitt

I stockpile supplies ahead of a natural disaster –
food, water – for both human and animal.
Medicines are high and dry on a shelf.
A case each of bathroom tissue, facial tissue,
paper towels,  
batteries and candles, 
full tanks of gasoline and propane.
Tomorrow the hurricane makes landfall.
I don’t watch the news,
trying to ignore its projected path.
Will the storm’s name be male or female?
Will it be catastrophic?
If the levees break, if the guardrails fail,
will we all be washed from our homes?
In every storm, the marginalized – 
poor, ethnic, disabled, elderly –
are the first ones, worst ones, to be hurt.
Will they be left to drown or rescue efforts mounted?
Will they be pulled into the boat or sink below the surface?
Does suffering really exist if you can’t see it?
Look away and it’s gone, fake news –
hunger isn’t real if it’s not in your own belly.
My eyes to the sky, watching the clouds gather.
A bird on the branch, swaying, waiting to 
see which way the wind blows.