Suddenly there we were—
a hillside in the cloud
where thunder racked the air,
dispassionate, loud.
The earth we used to know
flickered to memory.
Below, the river shone
like mercury
and mutable as he
who moves in the between
so few of us can see,
like a stranger’s dreaming.
This was not in Rome
but the southern hemisphere
which other gods call home
to love and fear.
And there we were
in that electric flash
anticipating fire
and rain-wet ash,
wishing we knew a tale
that would make sense of this.
The rain turned into hail
leaping with a hiss.