They are real.

It slammed into my windows
scratching its nails along my siding
ramming its shoulders into my roof.

As if it were taking my home
tipping it, twisting it and shaking it
and I am tossed around inside

Like a toddler shaking a snow globe

He called me at 6:30 a.m.
making sure that Ronan and I
were ok.

Concern shifted in his voice
I could feel it
through the phone.

Darkness filled my home
He came over and brought candles

He had been up since 4 a.m.
running around caring for others
even in his exhaustion he cared about me.

Dashing in and out of my house
keeping fences from blowing down
and checking to see if siding flew off
observing shingles intact.

And after the storm
picking up twigs
shingles
cleaning out gutters

As a little girl I read about them
as a teenager I dreamed about him
and as a woman I didn't believe in him.

But in that moment
covered in mud
draped in a hoodie
and exhausted

was my
knight in shining armor.

A.A.