i remember that the air didn't feel right,
it was quite warm for a january night,
had just gotten off from an evening of work,
stepped out into the misty rain and fog's murk,
it was cloudy, it was raining off and on,
by the time i got off, the showers had gone,
there was the funniest color to the air,
there was a strange orange-ish-yellow tint there,
was hungry, so i put it out of my mind,
the local jack in the box is where i dined,
then walked home, because i didn't have a car,
thank God i live in a place where nothing's far,
my best friend's apartment was just down the way,
went to her place, just like i did every day,
it was time for a game, broke out the card deck,
that's when the power went out...we said, "aw, heck!"
had turned on the t.v., we could catch the news,
no power would make this rather hard to do,
time for a smoke for me, went out the front door,
when did the wind--? now smoking would be a chore,
came back in, when the sirens began to wail,
grabbed her son from upstairs, downstairs we high-tailed,
in a tiny half bath, took refuge in there,
best friend, me, her little boy, we were all scared,
we all wondered what was goin' on outside,
i wished we had a basement where we could hide!
never heard a roaring noise, no, not at all,
the sirens, though, continued to caterwaul,
all i remember is a couple loud "WHUMPS"!
i wondered what was making all of them thumps,
i wished they'd turn that stupid, noisy thing off,
they were so loud, i couldn't hear myself cough,
a bit later, sirens sounded the all-clear,
stepping from our hiding spot, wondered with fear,
what would we find? how much damage would there be?
would we have anything? would all be debris?
my best friend's apartment came through the storm fine,
two sides of the complex lost the roof--one was mine,
misplaced until the damage could be repaired,
the night the twister hit still gives me nightmares!
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i've been in three tornadoes. the last one was
january 17, 1996, here in burleson, texas. i
lost my roof in that one...and still have night-
mares about it! it could have been so much
worse, but i'm grateful to God it wasn't...my
heart goes out to all those that were affect-
ed by the recent tornado outbreak. i'm so
sorry...(((HUGS)))

i understand the fear...but can't know what
it's like to lose everything you own...or to
lose a loved one...i pray it never happens
to me. i'm sorry it happened to you...

(((HUGS))) and love, karla. :(