They cut the power
today to work
on the lines.
The computer went
off. The lights
went off. The
refrigerator went
off. The garage
door wouldn’t
open. I wanted
to mow the yard.
The door has a
release. I opened
it by hand.
When it happens
you learn a
few things. You
learn how important
it is to think,
to improvise,
to work without
buttons or switches
or instant anything.
You learn something
else in the quiet
of birds and wind
and branches
cutting their
way up into
the air.
You learn if
the boys and
girls are right
about the way
the world
works and survival
of the fittest,
origin of the
species and
how many eons
it takes to
get anything
done, you
better pray not
for salvation,
but eternal
electricity.
♦