A Mid-Summer Storm 
by
N.E. Nelson
copyright © Protected by stcroixartbarn.com 
 

In extreme heat and humidity
doe and fawn's ears and tails
twitch and switch, back and forth
as they feed on new growth golden rod

On the hill recently cleared of hundreds
of sumac that surround a huge white pine
where shortly after in early spring, doe delivered
a fawn, she would proudly and cautiously let me
sit quietly watching

Above the pine, huge thunderheads begin to roll in
upon one another and the first are consumed by
the next again and again until they are dark
and intimidating

Two male finches rise up above from a smaller pine
ignoring gravity as they hold their place in sky
almost embracing, maybe warning one another
of the oncoming storm

Chickadees rush from arbor to feeder and back again 
and again as rooster pheasant cocks off as if startled by
deep and long thunder-booms and then struts across the 
driveway to prove he's not afraid

Now its nearly dark,
yet I can see the wind has kicked-up
because all the oaks wave there black/green leafs
and show the backdrop of dark/silver sky
where pre-sunset once hung and all is still
except for the promise of a mid-summer 
storm