I am no longer brave, I flinch at the storm. br I have no defense, I have lost too much. br My sense of resilience has been chipped away br Until all that is left is a knot in my stomach br And a sincere wish that we will be lucky this time. br br I don’t care if trees come down, if hail rips br The last leaf from the last branch, if a tornado br Leaves a swath a mile wide. I only care that no one br Is hurt, that homes and lives are not destroyed. br br Children are engaged by the bending limbs, br The thousand swirling leaves, the low clouds br Racing overhead—while I worry, rightly so, br Of catastrophe; rightly so, because I have lived it, br Have seen it, have faced the costs. br Rightly so, I have every reason to be scared.br br Hanque O . . .