Charley's Song

He raged across the water
with visions of grandeur,
spit a briny spray upon the sand
and kicked up giant waves with his toes,
batting them against the shore
like a cat with a toy on a string.

His laughter rang like thunder 
as he hissed pelting rain
at anything in his way,
like swatting flies
in the darkness of his shadow
as he watched with a keen eye. 

Knowing he could not be beaten
he taunted those who tried,
roaring his name into the wind,
and daring anyone to forget him,
terrorizing night and day,
unstoppable, until he tired of his game.

August 2004
ŠJanet Reid


Hurricane Charley ravaged Cuba, then moved on to hit 
the southwest Florida coast on Friday August 13th, 2004