Deep into night, most passengers asleep,
through a small, right-side window
of the silent plane, far in the distance
suddenly a light, illuminating the black sky,
giving brief shape to massive thunderhead.

Storm over North Africa,
unimaginable display of power,
backlighting here, then there,
perhaps Tunisia, Libya, Egypt,
very far away, safely away,
a pleasant, comfortable sight.

Beneath–perhaps the Mediterranean or the
Apennines stretching unseen to the
edge of the Italian boot.

Like a silent electric movie,
huge flashes behind towering cumulus clouds,
majestic, of no real concern,
only aesthetically pleasing outside
the window of the quiet plane
slicing its way securely through
the dark night.