Day-4

“Heat Lightning in a Time of Drought” by Andre Hudgins is a poem that reminds me of all the times I linger on the edge of sleep, letting my wind wonder from many past experiences. I believe the speaker is on the edge of sleep.  I think the most significant part, or at least the most important to me, is the repeated reference to lightning in the poem.  Starting with the title, lightning is a recurring theme.  In the literal since, the speaker is yearning for lightning because rain usually comes with lighting , and the drought needs to be broken. I also think the lightning is significant in that his mind flashes from one thought to another, and that thought s gone as quickly as a flash of lightning.  Then, the speakers mind drifts from topic to topic, and his thoughts become stranger and stranger. Then the lightning brings his wandering mind back and directs him towards his initial purpose: sleeping.  When I read the poem, I was immediately attracted to the use of lightning.  I spent time to really dig in and think what point Hudgins was trying to make to the reader. The lightning is definitely a Segway from one memory to another, but when I looked at the  title,  “Heat Lightning in a Time of Drought,” I knew there was something that Hudgins really was trying to get across. Lightning in a drought might  be  representative of false hope. Most of the time, where there is lightning, there is rain also. In this case, there is plenty of lightning, but no rain. The reader also has hope that he will fall asleep, but if the lightning is indicative of anything, he doesn’t stand much of a chance.