Rain

Sometimes you can smell it an hour away

A wet, dusty aroma

The skies turn purplish black as night falls in the day

The firmament boils over

Displacing everything in its path, the wind breathes

Sand gets in eyes

Wrappers come undone and trees loose leaves and branches

Roosters, goats tumble back home

The clothesline is undressed just in time

And buckets and basins are lined up on the porch

Ana ruwa!

Rain de come!

Its gonna rain!

The thunder claps the announcement overhead

Giant drops sail down slapping the earth

And then… the deluge.

Enene Ejembi, 2009