I sat in the dark
after power was sucked
from the city.
I told the summer storm,
“I don’t want to think about it.”
She leveled me with a look and said,
“You will sit in sticky heat
with rain pounding your windows
sirens blaring across the city
and you will be still.
Light your candles.
Watch everything flicker.
Just like your heart
you’ve buried under
layers of responsibility.
Don’t compromise your solitude.
This is a different kind of silence –
the earth upheaving.
Respect this rhythm.
The thunder.
The cracks.
Be shaken.
Be grateful for this moment
The full silence.
The permission to be released to the storm
to be reduced to candlelight.”
Em Lexeme 