We were eating in the dining-room
when a thunderstorm rolled on in.
It was a real banger.
We heard a loud craaaccck
and our house shook
and lightning lit up the room
so that Mom
who was sitting by the window
looked like a black ghost.
She scooted away from the window
and Daddy laid down his fork
and ran to the kitchen
so he could look out the back window
and me and the boys ran too
and we saw a tongue of flame
that reached up almost to Heaven.
"That tree's on fire!"
Daddy shouted
and he ran back to the dining room
to tell Mom to get the baby
and me
and get out of the house.
Mom grabbed our jackets
and a blanket for the baby
and we ran across the road
which was already a sinkhole of mud.
Mom looked hopefully down the road
at Sister Alfreda's house
but it was closed and dark.
We were soaked in seconds.
Lightning danced around us
jagged bolts
flashing everywhere at once
non-stop.
They left a smell
like a just-lit match
that made Mom cough.
"Oh dear Lord, please don't let it
take our home
Mom whispered
or our precious church."
I said "Amen."
"And please dear Lord, look after
my dear husband
and my little boys."
We saw the sky glow red
behind our house
and the gray smoke that billowed
against the fiery red.
Thunder clapped
right over our heads
and lightning skipped
along the ground
right in front of us.
We had to jump back
to get away from it.
The baby screamed.
I moved close to Mom
and she was trembling.
I took the baby
so that she could button her jacket
and she did the same for me.
It was black as night
and wet
and cold
and scary.
A flash of light
showed us the firetruck
and the firemen running around
and we saw Daddy
holding the boys hands
and standing back out of the way
so the firemen could do their job.
The storm began to die down
and pass away
and we could hear birds
starting to chirp
letting us know the worst was over
so me and Mom ran back
across the road
and Brother Rudy took the baby
from Mom
and Brother Tom said
"Are you alright, Sister Naomi"?
and Mom's voice cracked
as she asked
"Is it alright for us
to go home now?"
Daddy came over
and the men escorted me and Mom
and the baby
back into our house
where Mom changed her clothes
and the baby's clothes
and I changed mine
and Mom laid out dry overalls
for the boys
and slacks for Daddy.
Daddy took Mom and me
out to see where the fire had stopped
right behind our two-holer
and Brother Tom said
"This is a true miracle."
All the firemen came in
and Mom made pots of coffee
while they milled around
talking about the miracle
and how none of them had ever
heard of
or seen
anything like it before.
On Sunday,
Daddy talked about the storm
but then he had to leave off preaching
because the whole congregation got up
and went outside to look
at the line of fire.
Me and Vera stood together
with the women
while the men inspected
the burnt grass
and the charred trees.
I looked over at Mom
and she looked so beautiful
standing there like a short little angel
in her little green dress
and her high-heeled shoes
her stocking seams almost straight
and I knew that
God had granted us this miracle
because He loved my Mom to pieces.