Negotiating

Lightning rips the air, posing as a twisted stick
Illuminating the night’xs black menacing clouds.
Again and again strikes search the sky,
A savage nightmare seeking a pitiful innocuous victim.

Rain ferociously striking the fuselage creates a deafening roar,
Overwhelms the noise of the man-sized jet engines,
As the aircraft is terrifyingly buffeted, up, down, down again, harder.
Seat-belts keep us all from crashing into overhead storage space.

What you might ask, am I, an atheist, doing?
NO, I have not soiled my pants.
NO, I am not praying.... exactly.
I am negotiating.

It goes something like this,
Listen, I start, you and I have had some disagreements.
Yes, it is fair to say I have shown contempt on some rare, OK not so rare, occasions.
Surely we needn’t review ancient history at such a perilous time?
Look, if you just stop the wings from jumping around...
Aieee!! that was bad. Are we going to crash?
Am I going to die?

How about you showing the mercy and forgiveness you claim in your CV?
Please put us down nicely, right about now would be good.
I’m sleeping now, right?
This storm is imaginary, right?

That last bump wasn’t as bad.
The rain must be subsiding, I can hear the engines.
How about if I leave you in peace
And you reciprocate?

So, we have a deal?