Nervous thunder in the distance
peels away the silence
A bear has been seen
within walking distance
An invisible fence
keeps the dogs from my door
and I walk in the evening,
dodging mosquitoes
Wildlife circles
and a train approaches, its jazz note
cutting right through
as I should
if I had dominion
instead of a nervous disposition
The world closes in on me
and I adopt a defensive stance,
waiting at the barrier,
looking up the track
Eventually I see a firm, unyielding light
and hold on to it
It hurtles towards me
through me
and disappears:
the noise batters me
When it passes, I stand firm
or, to put it another way,
I do not quite fall over
This is one of the three poems I read in the old chapel.