After the Storm - Leanne Pflaum

Acrylic
22 1/4" x 28 1/2" x 3/4"
 
After the Storm 
by Alycin Hayes
 
Moist air fills my nostrils with relief              
as I survey the wet night’s destruction
An ancient maple tree split in half 
shares soggy ground with fallen hydro poles 
 
An absent buzz of electricity generates 
a missing unheard silence
 
No power, no phone
No way to reach the outside world
I stand alone afraid,
hair uncombed, silk nightgown wrinkled 
peering uneasily out my open kitchen door 
 
Across the pink morning sky two great blue herons streak  
 
A white tailed deer pushes her curious head from behind a fallen tree
to eagerly nibble fresh green leaves
 
A pair of wild turkeys proudly prance 
in a clearing newly opened by last night’s tempest
I smile at their amusing dance
 
Looking up a red tailed hawk circles above
inviting me to explore her world
 
Cautiously I step outside
barefoot 
feeling the tender bottoms of my feet 
touch delicious damp cool earth
 
An intoxicating primordial current 
of recognition opens within, 
empowering me to truly hear 
the essential missing silence