Yellow And Orange Warnings

For the tail-end of Hurricane Gonzalo, which is supposed to be battering the West coast at present, and has been expected all day here in Dublin, where it's been oddly calm. Though coming out of my creative writing session in UCD over an hour ago, I noticed little swirls of leaves on the flagstones, swells of that whistling-metallic-tissuey music, wind finding its dry tongue to say shhhhhh!

I can hear it now, sans leaves, rising and falling almost rhythmically, wrapping the house in its breath-traffic. The paths and gutters are thick with leaves waiting be disturbed, bodied forth –– to throw their mini-cyclones, whisk and rise and and surf the ten steps to our front door.