After a Storm

i.

see how the world

is made pleasant.

the greens are deeper;

the browns, darker.

there is a white light,

a gleam different

from the sun

and

surrounding it is a quiet,

a particular quiet

that deserves a name

of its own.

ii.

this is how

we become deaf.

let me tell you

that it is not the rain

that washes the earth

but the sound

that drowns our ears.

we are filled

and then drained;

full and then emptied.

we are made to feel

so much only to be

take away.

so this is a gift,

this remnant of an

impact, of sensation.

this quiet is a gift.

This piece, along with some of my photographs, were featured on Homework Magazine.