Storm

by Kathryn Winograd

                 As if the earth
                 Stopped,
                 The air hushes.
                 You feel the heat
        5         Rising
                     Out of fields,          
                         Out of asphalt.
                 And then a
                 Single leaf
        10         Turns
                 Its silver back.
                 Air claps air
                     And all the grasses
                     Lie down.
      15          Do not stand          
                         Beneath this tree.
                 If you must be brave,
                 Then for one second
                 Only
        20         Lift your face
                 To the darkest of
                 Blues
                 And feel the Sea,
                 The cool,
        25         Faraway Sea,
                 Surging
                   Wind-whirled
                          Through the Trees.