January 6th

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It was January 6th
when the ice came rolling down
when it came it covered everything
from the treetops to the ground
the transformers, they were flashing
purple, green, and blue
and the people, I watched them scramble
as they wondered what to do

So we drove on down the road
in the stark eerie darkness
the world it seemed had stopped
and the trees, they were a mess
so the cars piled on the street
not knowing where to go
until they saw that store ahead
and its sanctifying glow

We all stocked up on flashlights
batteries, and wood
I asked them about cooking
and they didn't think we should
'cos they'd never heard of Sterno
an inferno in a can
so I bought what I could carry
soon they'd say, "you're the man!"

And we huddled by the fire
as the temperature went down
no electricity meant silence
but there's power without sound
then all our plans were ruined
by flying condiments
there was screaming, there was shouting
and with a "fuck you," we went

Then we searched out a shelter
a haven from the storm
didn't matter what it looked like
as long as it was warm
we slept on carpeted concrete
while a preacher gave her spiel
with the morning we were hungry
and toast made a meal

And so our trek continued
through the frozen wasteland
we surveyed all the wreckage
wrought by nature's command
the trees were shattered lifeless
streets covered in debris
a quarter million without power
no one knew how long it'd be

To the shelter we returned
for the generous offering
I brought along a laptop
so the kids could be playing
we met this lovely couple
forty miles away, they lived
and home is where we drove them
I wonder what that kindness did

That night we hit a hotel
the cheapest of its kind
we ordered in some pizza
and no one seemed to mind
snow collapsed overnight
covered everything again
the plows, they dug us out
things were far from on the mend

Moved to another hotel
this one better than the last
bought food, water, and dishes
but lonely, the day passed
they said it might be a few more days
no more than a week
but I had no more money
so we were out on our feet

To my sister we went knocking
her power'd just come back
so we could crash a few days
and pick up some of the slack
in her small downtown apartment
so little never seemed so much
we were thankful what we had then
we were grateful for a touch

And finally, the lights came
our corner shared its glow
and it was with some sadness
that we knew we had to go
though the ice had broken Muncie
though the wheels had ground to a halt
of something else we were reminded
the most primitive gestalt