I sat huddled with a kid
on either side,
pressed against a fallen tree
and wedged beside a stump.

Lightning lit up the world
in purples and oranges
echoed by strikes of thunder.
Rain poured on us,

cold cascading in streams
as it ran against my skin.
We shielded ourselves with an
emergency blanket

waiting

and hoping it would relent.
Our bodies all closest
they’d been since
they were babies.

Me, their only comfort in the
raging storm.