someone pulled a curtain
over the wide dome of trees
and the wind rushed in
making the forest groan
in retrospect, I should have noticed
the silence, as the air stilled
like an indrawn breath, expectant
until the world exhaled
a cache of debris, dropping
to the ground as if
the sky was discarding itself
rattling apart, piece by piece
but still, no rain
until the purpling clouds belched
a wild rumble, splitting open
and the water poured down
drenching my face
the scream of a crow
is what finally moved me
the path, a tunnel, as I ran
from wind and shadow and fear
towards the electric sky, aglow
with an arc of lightning
that reached for the river
with fingers of white fire