Summer Storm

I am the thunder in the summer 

The lightning at dusk 

Rain pouring down, pestering glass windows

It’s been hot all day,

All week

And the pressure builds 

They can’t walk outside without feeling the tension

The air is heavy on their skin

It seeks solace in the crevices of their lungs 

Choking its host and burrowing even further 

It all builds up to something. 

We’ve been through summer storms before

And we all ache until the break 

I ache until the break

No one fully knows the tempest that is to come. 

We’ve been through countless summers together,

Countless heatwaves 

And yet, we balk at the storm

And run from the downpour 

We hide under trees

Or seek shelter under tin roofs 

Lightning strikes, and we marvel. 

But when the storm is done

We are thankful for the break

The air is free, and we can breathe again

I am free

And I can breathe again