THUNDERSTORM ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN

My old college buddy (who is also firmly ensconced among the list of my current buddies), Steve Maxon, recently traveled to the Tate family manse on Lake Champlain to visit my brother Job. He captured this brief video of a summer thunderstorm looking out over the lake from the front porch. The advantages of Southern California's climate are undeniable and numerous, but sometimes I miss weather like this.

I saw two yellow raincoats
In the soggy dripping woods,
Coming down a puddled path,
Two yellow dipping hoods.
The sudden splash of color
In that world of brown and green
Reminded me of birds
In pictures I had seen,
Birds with brilliant feathers
In jungles dimly lit,
Like the woods were a canvas
And the raincoats- paint on it.

***

I want to walk through a soggy place,
A shady place where water flows,
Where mist in the air dampens my face,
And dew on the grass my clothes.