Lightning

Shreds and shrivels the night sky
instantly from east to west,
in the blink of an eye,
no announcements,
no warnings but the darkening clouds,
no committees, no criers in the streets,
some are sleeping and others agape
at the fiery devastating slash.

At that moment in that blue light,
the stone church steeple rubbled,
split from top to bottom,
the brass sounding one last time,
cloven in twain falling,
every face streaming in the rain,
lifted skyward at the flash,
the clean and the unclean,
and then the thunder
trumpet blast of return,
furling the billowing clouds,
collapsing the lung
like a fisted punch,
and rising, a gasp, a wail,
a jubilant hallelujah!