There’s music in the air – the symphony of a storm. A slow, grumbling growl thrums through the night. My bones vibrate with the thunder. It sounds like a brobdingnagian basilisk in the sky bellowing out. The subsequent ferocious shout is short and resounding. It plays the part of a cymbal crash, interrupting the melody with a vehement clap. As I watch the darkness drench the world outside, I wonder if the hidden dragon is the clandestine composer behind the current phenomena.
A blinding flash follows the rumbling roar. Glowing spears streak towards the ground, stabbing the sky and splitting the darkness. The lightning silently accents the notes of the storm’s song. Then I blink and it’s gone, already just a memory. In my mind I picture fire flaring where the lightning struck, but all is safe and sound this time around.
The gentle pitter-patter of rain tip-taps on the roof above, the wyvern’s tears cascading down in a determined downpour. The tempo alternates between allegro and adagio, and the consistent erraticism is curiously comforting. The music crescendos until I become encompassed by the noise, the droplets drumming into my thoughts. During the diminuendo, I sigh silently, hoping that the concert is not yet concluding.
However, the fear is unfounded. The wind whistles, whisking leaves off limbs and slamming rain against walls. The slap of water against the window picks up an irregular rhythm, driving the beat to a new pace. Thunder snarls again, softer now but still insistent.
As the deluge eases to drizzle, I close my eyes and listen to the lingering lullaby. Presently, only a brisk breeze blows, the breath of a tired conductor conceding that the closing note is near. Darkness descends and sleep comes easily as the encore plays, a berceuse of the basilisk in the sky. The sky sprinkles sporadically for a time. Finally, the curtain falls, and the dragon bows his head in a timeless salute.
More about rain and storms
Rain Poems from Poem Hunter
On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants by Michael C. Kelley and Michael Garstang from the journal Animals