Even Prompter

Tornado

Tornado

Seedy motel on a hot Kansas afternoon,
stifled breath as we emerge from the car,
warm wind on our faces and the air green,
dust hurrying past on the cracked asphalt,
and the sky dark beyond the sun.

“Tornado weather,” and we hasten to the room,
batten the hatches and crank up the a/c,
its voice in keeping with tired furniture,
faded wallpaper, and threadbare carpet.
I stand at the window, watching the storm.

The wind speeds by, sideways, constant,
bending all to its overbearing will,
and I am dragged away, reluctant,
but hearing the voice of experience.
Americans shower but the bath is shelter.


Line count: 15
Free verse
For Promptly Poetry, Week 39 2022
Prompt: Write a poem about a time you were thankful for shelter from a storm.