hurricane sandwich

you call
your father who
is eighty-three
and who sailed
the north
atlantic
for thirty odd
years. you can
see on tv
that the hurricane
is centered now
over where he
lives, and he
answers the phone
with a bouyant
hello, how the hell
are you. he has
no power and
is sitting
in the dark
eating a sandwich
by flashlight, he's
perusing the tv
guide to see
what's on when
the power returns.
the wind is
shaking the house
and slapping
the trees against
his windows. rain
is pummeling
the roof. i've
seen worse he
says, a lot
worse, so what's
the weather like
up there?