So, we had a camp out on the school field on Friday night. 50 children in tents under a beautiful starry sky. At about 1:20am, out of the corner of my eye, I saw flashes of light far off. They were persistent so I made my way to the other end of the school field where I could see better the sky. What was starry clarity above was being replaced by a broiling mass of dark grey cloud with regular electrical flashes. It loomed ever closer. Which way was it heading? Was I going to have to evacuate the tents and get everyone inside in the middle of the night. I stood, and waited, and watched, to see what would happen. Would this thunderhead come our way, or would we be spared?

Staring at the sky,

Watching the thunderheads move

Praying they pass by.

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My precious charges

Asleep ‘neath their canvas roofs,

Two thirty a.m

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The clouds breaking up,

Starlight peering through the gaps,

May this be the end.

You’ll be pleased to know it worked out and we only had a few spots of rain.

Thanks for reading,

Richard