The sky cracked and flashed,
white veins of lightning
ripping into the night
and the thunder slammed
closer to us each time,
which made the rain
seem even fiercer.
It’s no wonder we used to invent
Gods for weather like this.
Zeus, Leigong, Indra, Shango.
No matter where you were born,
you had a God for this department.
A deity of weather,
a capable middle-manager
who actually picked up the phone.
But religion has become so centralized,
now when you want to pray
or file a formal complaint
in the middle of a storm,
you have no one to call but the boss
and you just know
you’re going to be on hold
forever.