Rousted

The mortar between the bricks

of my apartment building

must have felt

the four o’clock AM wave of

doom that shattered the skies

overhead.

A booming crackle so momentous

it seemed the pillars of heaven

were collapsing to Earth.

I was startled awake by the

explosion in the sky as it

worked its way through the spine

of my apartment.

Rattling windows,

cracking ceilings, shuddering

shelves.

I thought something, a monster,

Cthulhu, or a fallen Saint had

ripped through the veil of this

universe and was now on a

collision course with humanity.

It would be dire. There’d be few

survivors. Humanity had seen its

last days and they weren’t even

that interesting.

My sleeping brain came to

recognize the familiar pings and

pelts of heavy raindrops

drumming the exposed portion

of my air conditioner.    

There was nothing coming to

tear this world asunder. It was

angels bowling. God taking off his

shoes and dropping them to the

floor. Merely thunder shattering

my slumber.

I drifted back to sleep, calmed

by the percussion of rain battering

my air conditioner. Relaxed in the

bosom of my bed.

I dreamed.