thunder

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photo by Sonny Sixteen

it’s easy to think the
thunder is caused by lightning,
the feeling of death
pounding in your chest…
it’s silly to think thunder
is all you are,
but there is so much more to you,
with all the power you have left…
maybe the thunder is something else,
something outside the seas—
a panic-blast from a time before,
someone who hurt you
or left you twisting in the wind…
lightning is merely discharge — 
it’s frightening, but it probably won’t
strike you again—
it was real, but it was
catastrophe, and no tragedy
spells certain doom…
the thunder might be a sort of backward signal,
but you need not listen to it all the time
so, put your ear plugs in,
or shut the door,
or go somewhere safe in your lovely mind…
the thunder may seem like
devastation’s twin, but it’s only its
aural counterpart and
can often serve you as a friend — 
it is no enemy, just an echo
that every human hears…
it is no sign or message
and has no deeper meaning
in and of itself — only that it coexists
with something worse,
so, I tell you, friend,
focus on the healing rain,
focus on the clearing cloud,
focus on the sky that bathes,
and let your truest self resound

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Garbage Notes:

It’s easy to think that we are our feelings. That our internal afflictions somehow define us. But they don’t. They are merely states we pass through.

The reason it makes sense to conclude that lightning causes thunder is because one always comes after the other. This is sound logic, and in this case it turns out to be true. They are two components of the same weather event. But when it comes to figuring out the causes of the bad weather inside us, that’s a little more tricky.

This poem is about getting to the root of our psychological pain. The real reasons for why we feel the way we do are often murky and ill defined. Sometimes it’s our own fault. Sometimes it’s the fault of others. Sometimes it’s genetics. Society. Or sometimes it’s dumb environmental triggers that are outside of our control.

There were many times where I’ve felt depressed or anxious or even completely numb. And I remember how easy it was to let that spill over into my personality.

But we are not our feelings. We are not our pains or our moods. We are more than the transient states that our bodies go through. You might feel a storm brewing inside you right now as we speak. But it will pass. The rain will wash away the dirt. And the sun will soon return.

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Franco Amati 2026

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