Thunderstorm

Afternoon and
the sun fading in the sultry air
colors go flat
shadows drain away
birds quiet
in a surreptitious removal
you notice only when you shiver
in the cold breeze just sprang up
the impassive sky
giving up nothing except
the idea of a thin blue line
across the horizon
that as you watch
hurrying to spread out
stretch wide flow and fill
the blank and hard sky
the deep blue that holds the thunderstorm
until it can’t and
split by the first flash of lightning
spills over

6/6/19