I listen to the rain
And everything feels so far away
And close at hand
The world is coming apart at the seams
And I am home
Listening to the rain

Earlier I stood outside
Catching raindrops in my eyes
Ears open to clear song,
Red as the throat that made it
There's a reason they're called cardinals
Not another sound but that bright red bird

It feels as though I am waiting
The tightness living beneath my rib cage
Waiting for the other shoe to drop
It's like watching a tsunami from a distance
Apprehensive and wary
Side-eyeing every stranger on the street
So aware of the distance between us

The world is closed to me
Even on these long walks down
Familiar streets
Is it too much to ask that these
Doom days don't last?
I listen to poetry recited -
Unplanned survival
And trying to love this mutilated world
And I think I understand