a study of the storms at night

at night,
just after the storm hits,
it seems to just wash away
all of this neighborhood's inhabitants.

when you smell
that mixture of rain
and concrete,
it's like smelling a garden
of freshly birthed stone.

more reinforcements of lighning
march closer
in the distance.

not one person is walking their dog,
but there is a symphany
building
from every single window a/c unit
in this neighborhood,
and it never sounds bad.

you don't even question where
everybody has gone.
you just accept this stretch of concrete
for whatever mood
it has taken.

i remember those times
flying late at night,
somewhere over the belly
of the midwest.

i remember watching the lightning
show happening below.

i never thought of the people
protected by shelter,
underneath the noise
of those clouds,

and i suppose i still don't,
down here,
where gravity weighs the most.