National Weather Service | A Cup of Songwriting

The baby pastel blues

Off the shores of Lake Michigan

Fall crashing coldly

Onto sandy homes

Roaring from the weather

The wind and the snow

Waking me in the morning

Through the pines

Between ice tipped shrubs

Beating on the glass outside my window

Awakened to light brighter

Song lighter

Of the winter birds

The lake reveals a storm overhead

Three feet of snow headed to Michigan

I protect my warmth in the morning

As the heat evades my winter skin

To a cold Michigan morning

Under a snow and ice so thin

Pine needles crackle

Tied together loose with water and cold

Under each foot gives way

To an earth frozen

But only days ago

It was an early rip of storms for this time of year

Creating a palpable uncertainty in the air

Cars wheels fell ungraspable to pavement frozen

Sliding from one side to the other

It was a frigid morning in Michigan

Truly I was not prepared

For winters cold hand

Had laid its awakening on falls back

And now into winter we are fashioned

With waves crashing

Small drops splashing

Higher than the rock walls

Where the drips fall

Creation of some new frozen ice

To tell the story of this transition

Truly is a testament to my position

Tucked in the woods

Staying warm for now

Under the winter sun in Michigan

Pulled off on the side of the road for bad weather

Said there might be a tornado round the bend

Closed and locked the car and headed in for shelter

The smell of cooked meat and raw potatoes

Clung to my skin as I rushed in with the fresh air

I sat and watched the storm unfold 15 miles away

Ripping the trees from the dampened fall ground

I turn around to see others standing around

Concerned for the storm that is now heading our way

In a gentle manner I tried to keep everyone calm

I have no idea what I was trying to say

But everyone seemed happy to be going along

As the wind and rain ripped into the building sides

We could no longer see our cars parked just outside

A young girl sat alone on her phone

Shaking and afraid to be out here all on her own

I tried to remind her that she would be just fine

Got to be tough stuck in a burger joint contemplating life

Alone

A wife sat with her husband holding onto her kids

Hoping that the storm would miss us

Another woman on her way to Chicago

Wondering once the storm rolled in which way she should go

I tried to keep everyone’s hopes up a simple gesture

Here I was hoping just to make things a little bit easier

Not quite sure if I helped I could see the storm caused the fear in her

Inside that building business went on as usual

Burgers being flopped from one side to the next

I had no real care for what was going on

Just watching what the storm did next

We all made this our temporary stop

Out of the blasting rain and bustling wind

One of the workers made it over to make sure that we were all alright

Holding our heads and cell phones so very tight

The wind ripped the rain poured

As soon as I turned around I felt like

There was a storm no more

Two tornadoes

One to the north

One to the west

Not our day to fight it out

But it was one hell of a test

As the rain cleared and the sun made its meager reappearance

With the dim lit assurance we could make out way on

Walking out to our cars we said our simple goodbyes

A small community was formed in that joint

Connected we were in a concern for the future

But as that future became our past we made out way out into the evening

Waved our goodbyes

And back to our paths in life we then proceeded