What brings storms to August evenings
the humidity from months before
clumps like a cloud over barren grasslands
we beg for rain but run for cover when she delivers
this thirst cannot be quenched with quick, violent floods
for they reach only the surface
penetrate our drying soils, she does not
when she leaves our muddy skin to now soil, steep and rot

What brings storms to August evenings
when we have just started to like the heat?
the light is harsh and white and yellow
the thunder breaks the streets
What brings storms to summer nights
when we have just began to swim?
To land we must now go
because the water's getting sharper
the waves are mean
we begged for rain
not storms that drain our land
What brings storms to August evenings?
the ones we wasted inside anyway