The Party that Shall Not Be Named

Had to go check out the Party that Shall Not Be Named in Naperville tonight to see all the Harry Potter revelers. As you know, tonight is the night!! Check out the boxes of books at the Barnes and Noble all labeled "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL JULY 21!" Naperville was transformed into a more magical world. I saw Dumbledore, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Dobby, Rita Skeeter, Professor Magonigal, many quidditch players, living portraits ... here's one of Ron and Hermione ... and Potter Potties, gotta love it ...

Storm

Yesterday I drove directly into the red part on the radar map, just trying to get home to my no-doubt terrified cat. The sky was haunting. flashes every other second illuminated a claustrophobically low ceiling of grey clouds. I had the impression that God was soldering together heaven and hell, sparks flying everywhere.

On the highway I met the rain. It rattled my car until I was imagining it being pounded apart around me, paint striped off, belts shaking off their rotors, bolts dribbling behind me. I actually felt like I was swimming. Like my car was gliding instead of driving, wake churned up behind me, and I squinted into the windshield as if trying to blink away the water flooding the glass. There were seconds when I saw nothing but spiraling rivulets of water. Seconds where the scene before me was lit up as bright as noon by another flash of lightening. The ramp I took from one highway to another reminded me of a waterslide from a few years ago.

I took refuge for a little while under an overpass. I was just tired of driving. I threw on the hazard flashers and let trucks and cars fearlessly stream by me, dousing me with wake and mist. While just beyond the bridge I hid under rain pummeled the asphault, it boiled a pot just after you add the pasta. I had passed some other cars doing the same. Finally I got the guts to merge back on the highway, but only for a little while. I quickly got off and took side-streets home.

I wanted to write a poem about this. But instead it took too many words. Prose was streaming out of me. And the chaos of the storm wouldn't line itself up neatly into rows of verse. So this is my poem.