After This Storm

by Pat Antonopoulos

As children, we sat on the roofed porch and watched the storm. Early Spring might require that we wrap in quilts as we relished every lightening/thunder combo. Often the winds dampened us as we clutched the edges of our wraps. A super storm could wet our hair and wash our faces.

In his book, Pep Talks, Warnings & Screeds, George Singleton gives the rule for using cliches.
Rule # 1 Don't.
'Tongue in cheek' comes to mind. On page 122 Mr. Singleton gives Pep Talk NO. 169---Guilty Pleasures. Sometimes a well used cliche is the literary device that gets us where we are going with minimal explanation.

A dog-eared cliche is the scene outside my window. Damaged branches have gouged holes in the yard. Flower petals on the walk, broken pots, gutters down, deck furniture upended, a beautiful washed-clean-world. And that circles to the cliche.

What better frame could we find for the emotional dramas that storm though our lives? Upheaval, especially in family situations, has it all---thunder, lightening, minor destruction of damaged parts and even the guilty pleasure that can come with the cleansing.

Of course, the tragedy of nature's most destructive storms does not leave a washed-clean-world, but a porch swing storm can be help us find new ways of taking out the broken parts, cleansing the old ways and learning to cherish being together.