In the early morning light, over those mountain peaks

He thought he heard the sound of distant thunder

As if a far off drum had beat a long, slow roll.

Was it a trick played upon the ears that resonated in his soul?

Did he hear it truly or simply feel it deep within?

He felt he’d heard the sound before and felt he would again

Against the rising sun he strained his aging eyes

And once again searched vainly through the brightening blue skies

But not a trace of clouds or storms he finds

A trick no doubt played by an old man’s mind

Oddly though the sound effects more than his ears

It seems to somehow briefly melt away the years

And causes him to stand with unbowed back

And once again, as in his youth, it’s fear he lacks

Not excess courage but simple foolish lack of fear

Because he could not see the coming year

No tragedy nor heartbreak has befallen this young lad

Innocence and laughter were the only things he had

The first was taken quicker than the driest prairie burns

The second, stifled, took some years before it finally returned

And through the years, just now and then

The distant thunder calls again

And though he searches heaven for the cause

He finds no answers and can only pause

To listen once again in that early morning light

For that far off sound of distant thunder

Distant Thunder