Nado Wept

Janet "feels" everything! She was sad that tornadoes have had their way with so many recently:

Tore Nado off map -
town too tiny to fend off
unforgiving winds

Janet Leigh

Put a lot into your tornado lowku. (Is lowku, like jestku, another form of haiku?) The midwest and central to northeast of the vast country are becoming tornado alleys, and you are so right, the winds, nature herself, or itself is unforgiving; tearing, ripping, scattering, destroying, shredding, even killing all in their path. I have only been near, like 5 miles, from a tornado once in the spring in Louisiana, and it became dark at noon, and deathly still, and then a thunder and lightning storm lit up the sky, and it felt like a great demon was stirring somewhere near, a giant with blazing red eyes and lethal talons. Living in the northwest where such acts of nature are non-existant, I was terrified. Hard to believe that some folks get “used” to it.

Glenn

Well, since I coined the word “jestku” years ago, I can only give you my definition, Glenn. My jestku can be loosely based on the 3-line, 5-7-5 traditional haiku except that it’s written in jest, or humor, sarcasm, and silliosis instead of seriosis. My lowku is lowbrow haiku, heh heh. Hope that makes sense *hysterical laughter*

I know what it’s like going through tornado. One went through our subdivision in Upland Crest Northeast outside the Twin Cities, MN. I was very young then and was scared to death. Our house had stuff torn off of it but the houses across the street, further down, were almost obliterated!!! I also was inside a small scale tornado when I lived in Reston, VA. I actually saw the funnel before driving into it. It was pretty scary and I think it was probably an F -1, as in F minus 1 *laugh* But it rocked the car back and forth and the trees were bent over and crap was flying all over the place. And I think we were on the hip of a tornado passing along the Shenandoah River last year. I thought maybe our roof would lift up and off the house. The windows actually rattled for the first time that I could remember. This house is so sound and airtight that we can’t hear wind from inside. It’s an earth/berm house and only the front is really exposed but it felt like the wind was coming up from the front and would catch under the very long eaves and tear the roof off - sort of like our house being scalped. hee hee

Janet

There it is, another poem lurking midst my reflectings and grumblings:

Sky Demon

Deep we were
into southern
Louisiana,
one spring,
marveling at the dense
darkness at noon,
that was deathly still
for a tiny moment
just before
bellicose bellowing of thunder,
torrents of rain,
and the terrible beauty
of God's viens
turning electric
as crackling shards
of jagged lightning
lit up the sky--
and it felt
like there was a
great wind demon stirring
somewhere near--
a towering swirling monster
with sythes and talons
and flashing
white eyes
blinking death
and daring us
to tred within
its alley.

Glenn Buttkus May 2008