Lake huron, june 2017

 A storm

the size of the horizon

was blowing in,

loud & dark as revelation.

We saw it engulf the islands

seven miles out.

I swam toward it,

stood on the sandbar,

and felt the sky turn so dark

it made the lake shine silver.

I watched the lightning hit the lake

while I was in the lake

and the storm was coming fast.

I would have stayed,

witness to the glory.

Her panicked voice cut

across the water &

asked me to come in, so

I looked to the lightning

again—then,

I submerged & swam

to the sand,

to my laughing boys

and my wife.

The wind turned

and blew the storm

east & away,

and the water sat

motionless & expectant.

Mitchell Nobis’s recent poetry manuscript was a semi-finalist for the Philip Levine Prize. He has poems in or forthcoming from Hobart, Rockvale Review, Ponder Review, STAND Magazine, and others. He co-authored Real Writing: Modernizing the Old School Essay, a text for writing teachers.