The average tornado has a lifespan of only a few moments, its existence a particular combination of winds, a vortex born of a supercell fueling a spinning column of air. I am on the ground, overcome by the darkness, warned to take cover, to hide. Neon light spashes across the sky, followed by the applause of booming thunder claps, sheets of rain pour down, the wail of the wind wooshing and bending the treetops as if forcing them to bow down. Humid air rises, cool air falls, separate air streams clash in a precipitation-driven downdraft, a horizontal spin by way of horizontal temperature, energy sucked upward. Because wind is invisible, we cannot see the force until the funnel cloud forms, devouring water droplets, dust and debris, sweeping through nearby fields and towns, upending all that we have worked so hard to build. I hear the storm inside of me. The lightning above spells out a command: “Look at the power of the sky.” It tells me to lift my gaze beyond rooms and borders and beings who walk on the ground, to pay homage to what is incomprehensible, to what cannot be named, to praise even as I am afraid, to remember I am here only a few moments in this vast and marvelous world, to listen for the wind, to pay attention, to be in awe.
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only here for a moment…
great reminder.
Ahhhh, nice. Thanks.