Thunderstorm Poem by Toni Atchison

Summer-
and the beloved unwelcome damp heat
that lets me watch in awe
giants in studies of gray,
mutter and mumble across the cornflower sky.
A view framed in clothesline and maple leaves.
Cats in the windows drinking the freshening breeze
with less subtlty than milk.
Cold rain smell on hot asphalt-
tearful confessions of sky to earth.
Scent of river, earth and corn
flung in past the curtains by a fretful wind.
Hopping creatures under the hostas
coaxing the rain down in hoarse calls.
Chimes singing joyous in the breeze
as trees whisper in counterpoint.
A surge of pure light opens the sky,
and rain comes down with a shout.

2004