A Break in the Tropics
 

Waiting for the cooling rain,
The dull grey sky dims light again.
Dust and heat, oppressive air
Nags at the temperament, always there,
As pressure builds, the senses sigh,
The ground stays obstinately dry.
How dark it gets without the night,
No rare eclipse blots out the light.
The birds are silent, sheltered, waiting
For the first drip-drop, anticipating.
Out of nowhere comes the wind,
In warm strong gusts, with just a hint
Of cool, damp and changing air,
Of something coming, not yet here.
Then flicker-flash and thunder rolls
And down it comes in shoals and shoals
Of raindrops, large and cold and wet,
That fill up gutters, bounce off parapets.
It’s time at last to breathe cool air,
A blanket of heat has gone, and there
Is water lying in large pools,
To aid the birds, the thirsty souls.
So night and rain come down together
And all is joy until the power goes off, forever.