Rain

I.
legion of cloud bellies
pregnant with foreboding
hang heavy from the nets of the sky
i look up
to catch drops
that give birth to droplets,
that swing on my lashes,
blink
and i have stepped
to the other side of the mirror
for that instant i am in wonderland
vision blurred, color intensified
leaves me wonder
what is looking back at me
when at this moment
i first truly see

II.
tadpole drops swim across my backseat window as i stare out,
pacing time by the rhythm of the road.
street lamps push through the soup of clouds
straining to shed their light
but it is like trying to
drink tea with a fork,
and all that remains of the gray
is water, water everywhere.

III.
ladle by ladle,
pour it on.
i like my rain pounding
stomping across the windshield til

the sudden silence

explodes in our ears
for the moment we find refuge
passing under the over pass
and we have passed out, back again
offering our windows and tires and
four wheel drive as tithe to the storm

Kim Khanh Nguyen

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