Storming at Us

Addicted to forecasts, we watch each storm come at us
Weather Channel, computer modeling, radar and all
A nor’easter coming up the coast, Carolinas, Jersey shore
Montauk, the Cape, Boston and beyond, the itinerary set
Each stop, each drop anticipated; sometimes they line up
Warmer in the Midwest or swoop down cold from Canada
Line up in formation on the map, like armies advancing on
A battle map on the History Channel, Caesar taking all Gaul
Or Sherman marching, this time, up the coast from the sea
And sometimes they get here, worthy of the anticipation
Worthy of the wait, but many times they stay to the south
Or go to the north, as if willfully avoiding their duty to us
Their followers, their devoted fans who closely follow their
Careers and watch them die off in the ocean somewhere
A quiet, lonely death, and then, each time, we go on, check
The extended forecast and anxiously await what the weather
Man or woman has to say on our local six o’clock news.

-- J. K. Durick