Light Before Mourning

by Donna Gagnon

deep, rolling notes of thunder
woke me that night
I kissed your drowsing back
tasted salty summer heat of sweat
breathed that certain smell of the love
we’d acted out at dusk

sheet lightning pierced through
lace-covered windows
I sighed with delight and rolled
gently
away from you, from us

these storms, these powerful manifestations
of electrical change, nature’s way of
discharging her emotions always
find me downstairs, edgy, awed
tracing straight lines on kitchen tiles
with my bare, sleepy feet

in the thunder, I hear echoes
of a song you recorded before we met
a mournful dirge of loss and regret

I need to wake you
remind you
that the brightness of lightning
illuminates the world
before the mournful bass
of thunder sounds