the burden
a storm is coming in from the west
it looks pretty bad
we’d better put up those chairs in the shed
you think we’ll have a tornado this time
we might
have you ever seen geometric cloud formations like those
they remind me of scales, like those from the belly of a dragon
the way the wind is ripping through those treetops
I don't think we have much time
let’s pull the table in too
would you grab that end
I'll get the door
you know, I never thought about it before
but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was tornadoes
people experienced when they imagined flying monsters
destroying their villages and devouring every living thing in
its path
it’s easy to envision the tail of one
whipping trees out of the ground
its nostrils blowing out smoke and dust
as it thundered through the clouds
flames shooting out of its mouth with every lightening strike
picturing talons from a great beast
pulling boulders and earth and living creatures up
into the swirling chaos overhead
hell I know what tornadoes are
and they still scare the shit out of me
hey the sky is turning a nasty looking neon green
we’d better get inside
have you seen ruby
no
is she out
I think so
Rubeee
there you are
let’s getchu inside girl
Page 1 of 3
we hurried down the basement stairs
and crawled beneath the mattresses
propped up against the back of the cellar
the wind rattled our old brick house
as hail ripped through the windows and walls
like rapid machine gun fire
it sounded like a bloody war was going on outside
you think the house will hold
I don’t know
the ground started to move like waves of water under the
foundation
for a brief moment it felt like all of the air
was sucked out of the room
and then
it got quiet
no birds, no crickets
not the sound of a human being
nothing
and then thunder and sleet shook the innards of what was once
our home
and laid bare its skeletal remains
somehow knowing the eventuality
that daylight would come
gave us little comfort
as fatigue lulled us into a restless sleep
in the morning we heard voices murmuring above ground
we looked out and saw streaks of light fanned across the
concrete floor
Ruby was gone
so was the house
I whispered, "Are you okay?"
"I'm all right. How about you, anything broken?"
"I’m okay. Just sore all over."
Page 2 of 3
we crawled out of our soggy cave
and walked up the stairs into a great big wide open
sparks of sunlight reflected off the shards of broken windows
bricks, splintered wood, kitchen appliances and cars
tossed up in the limbs of leafless trees were strewn over the
vast wasteland
replacing the once manicured lawns
with miles of twisted debris
at the corner we saw a a line of young people
heading east
there were so many of them we could not see their end
they were hauling something with this blood stained rope
it was thicker than a mason's fist
and looked like sinew connecting them from one shoulder to the
next
what are you carrying
I don't know someone answered
but don’t worry
without looking up he said
we’re almost there
we stood and watched as they groaned and moved forward
like some kind of living organism carrying a great burden
beyond the horizon of muscle and flesh
without complaint
copyrights reserved by jenn weinshenker
