MONICA ELLEN SMITH

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STORM WARNING

a late night rain
falls softly
as breath upon my skin,
the steady patter
on my bedroom window
barely audible.

yet rest does not come
from its ambient lullaby
and sleep, hours off

for the thunder
was sudden
and clamorous,
and the cover of darkness
does not assuage my fear.

numbed and weary, I wonder
how a soothing shower
can so quickly
become turbulent