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M.J. Arcangelini

Lightning Within

inside vast towering clouds
lightning erupts sharp, arcing,
illuminating massive ethereal bulk
as though concealing tesla coils
deep within their wet recesses
the nervous electric flashes
of a mad scientist’s laboratory
in a black and white horror
film flickering out of the 1930s –
we fly west, level with heaven,
as though we were equals -

behind me and far below
my mother is finally in
the ground next to my father
after waiting over 40 years
to have a date carved in stone
she joins him in death at last
having been the devoted,
loyal widow the whole time
mourning him longer
than she ever had him -

outside the airliner window
the lightning doesn’t stop
it keeps cracking the sky
we simply fly past it
racing the sunset west
set from the start to lose

M.J. (Michael Joseph) Arcangelini was born 1952 in western Pennsylvania, grew up there & in Cleveland, Ohio.  He’s resided in northern California since 1979. He began writing poetry at age 11. His work has been published in little magazines, online journals, over a dozen anthologies and four poetry collections: the full length “With Fingers at the Tips of My Words” 2002, from Beautiful Dreamer Press http://www.beautifuldreamerpress.com/; the chapbooks “Room Enough” 2016, and “Waiting for the Wind to Rise” 2018, both from NightBallet Press http://nightballetpress.blogspot.com/; the full length “What the Night Keeps” 2019, from Stubborn Mule Press https://stubbornmulepress.bigcartel.com/. He maintains an occasional blog of prose and poetry at https://joearky.wordpress.com/ He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.


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