The farthest thunder that I heard

The farthest Thunder that I heard
Was nearer than the Sky
And rumbles still, though torrid Noons
Have lain their Missiles by -
The Lightning that preceded it
Struck no one but myself -
But I would not exchange the Bolt
For all the rest of Life -
Indebtedness to Oxygen
The Happy may repay,
But not the obligation
To Electricity -
It founds the Homes and decks the Days
And every clamor bright
Is but the gleam concomitant
Of that waylaying Light -
The Thought is quiet as a Flake -
A Crash without a Sound,
How Life's reverberation
It's Explanation found -