Summer Storm Coming In

 Summer Storm Coming In

A gale bursts in, producing a great slamming that sends us rushing to rearrange windows and doors. One heavy stopper that leans into our room was given to us by an elderly woman who was fascinated by Buddhism, although I'm not sure if she is a Buddhist. The stopper is a bodhisattva lying languidly on a brass bed. He is almost sensual in his elongated pose, one hand holding his head-dressed head and the other following his hips. He is wearing drapes that flow along his contours.

The other stoppers are not so elaborate–a bright green wedge breaks up the darkness in the hall and the weight of a round disk is used to hold open the bathroom rather than to pump up an arm.

Anything can function as a stopper as long as it stops.

The sky is a puffy gray promoting wetness. Some people pedal or walk under it without looking up, intent on their destination. I am intent on them, the sky, and the freshness from my window.

The electric lines do a balancing act at eye-level, pulling up but also swaying back and forth at the same time. Beneath them my neighbor's trampoline is silent and the pool in front of it thinks it will overflow today. I don't know what the trees are thinking. They are used to the wind and rain, so they sway only slightly to acknowledge the elements.

I close out the cicadas and their crackling falls into the background, stuffiness taking over. I must wait until the wild rush of rain passes before feeling expansion again.

Photo: <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/herzfrog-5096156/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4275208">Andrea Stöger</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4275208">Pixabay</a>

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi