Savannah Rain, West Africa - Daniela Elza

this way          I still don’t expect it to         (rain
at mid-day.         the sky turns

a twilight-orange.
eyes dilate         with the light            dying.

then I smell it—         the thin dust in the air.
wind picks up and              toys with trees

bending their backs             as far as they will go.
thunder              so close now—

for an instant      it is just I           and lightning
linking        earth                to sky.


this kind of rain leaves me           (my mouth    open
tasting the charged air        no time to exhale  

until         the torrent unswells              slows down.
finally            a calm—             clouds turning lambs.
 
water slips and slides            along familiar maps
whirls         twirls         drains.
 
outlines contours          colours         as
only visible under                  the paintbrush of rain.

its tiny feet             leaving
 clean prints                          everywhere.

   
the world looks up              with countless raindrops on 
its eyelashes         (washed          atoned         brighter—

gets carried away              on new water.