we heard a bang and a flash and saw a sheet metal flap flapping and a firetruck heading under the train tracks to the alley below. a branch of the cottonwood we were listening to broke and knocked out a transformer. the stove and the fridge, the dining room and the elevators went down too. leaves are flying like frantic birds and birds are  hiding. we hear of extraordinary weather everywhere. hold onto your wits, hold onto your dogs, ground yourself, stay away from destruction sites like obamaland, keep dreaming because this is awful real.