CWI September 2020 Winner

Sunshower

Riley Sutton

 

If there is peace to be had in this world, it is next to a clear windowpane

as a thunderstorm beats its drums in the distance.

With water slicing through the sky

in a diagonal marching line,

unbeknownst to the rules of physics and even gravity,

you can watch the sky turn from white to blue and every blurry color in between.

Foggy droplets cling to your window-

and if you put your hand up to the cool glass,

it leaves a warm, smoke-ringed handprint, like you can touch the storm after all.

But the only way that you can really join

is if you step into the rain,

and the cool scent of petrichor and greenery

fills your empty heart.

You look heavenward, covered in clouds and light and erroneous sunbeams,

and close your eyes.

Let the water crack across your head,

dripping down into whatever crevices have formed in your

stony exterior.

There is something so free

about being mercilessly, hopelessly drenched.

Now run inside, before the lightning snaps you into dust.

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