“When It Rains, I Return” by Amy Le Ann Richardson

"When It Storms, I Return" 

Thunder echoes,
its hollow rhythms,
etching into ebony skies 

vibrations of lightning 
coating the world in 
split-second 

increments of light.

Our eyes can only 
soak in so much, 
just glimpses 

of the rising creek, 
its current surging to 
drown out the thunder. 

Sour air meeting our 
tongues as we take 
deep breaths to 

calm racing hearts,

but panic courses 
through us as fast as 
the creek climbs out 

of its banks lapping up
against buildings,
swallowing cars, 

teasing imaginations 
with its power.

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