Thunder and Lightning



Huddled in darkness, a woman with child
Praying tonight, her punishment is mild
Unable to meet his many demands
Her husband unleashes a storm with his hands.
Blow by blow, until he’s done
Nowhere left for her to run
Wishing she could escape the pain
Of thunder and lightning
Without the rain

A teenager walks the streets alone
Mad at his parents, he doesn’t go home
In anger he chooses to steal a car
Speeds past a cop, but doesn’t get far
He’s lucky he’ll live to see the light
But sleep behind bars in jail tonight
Hoping to somehow outrun the pain
Of thunder and lightning
Without the rain

A man on the corner, holding a sign,
“Disabled veteran, hungry and blind”
Not certain if he will eat today
Or if he’ll have the funds to pay
Failed by the system, me, and you
Begging for handouts is all he can do
Wishing he could forget the pain
Of thunder and lightning
Without the rain

An old widow woman, sends prayers above
The Lord has taken her only love
Exhausted from living her life in the past
Her frail broken heart, gives out at last
She’s lucky though, the others would say
For she is at peace, at last, today.
No longer needing to hide her pain
Of thunder and lightning
Without the rain.

About this poem

I wrote this to express in various forms, a type of storm that far too many experience in life.

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Written on January 31, 2024

Submitted by lanhamleslie on February 01, 2024

1:09 min read
91

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabbccdED xxffggdED xxhhiidED jjkkhhdED
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,215
Words 231
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 9, 9, 9, 9

Leslie Kay Lanham

Mother, Grandmother, and happily retired. Part time poet and lyricist. Studied at Troy University. Currently resides in Pensacola, Florida. more…

All Leslie Kay Lanham poems | Leslie Kay Lanham Books

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Discuss the poem Thunder and Lightning with the community...

3 Comments
  • adognut
    I really like this poem because it look at the people society tends to forget. It is beautifully written.
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • Stevenanderson809
    Beautifully written poem. Easy read with a powerful message.
    LikeReply1 month ago
  • robertl.92681
    it was a very difficult choice between this ,poem and at least five others, However it appealed to me for its emotive human expression, It is well written ,with a engaging and consistent cadence ,the lines ,thunder and lightening without the rain are to me ,simply beautiful and deepen the whole experience . 
    LikeReply1 month ago

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"Thunder and Lightning" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/182621/thunder-and-lightning>.

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