The Order

The clouds spread like thick, gray frosting.

Then came the atmospheric cannon fire.

The cats arrived at my feet, leery of the sky barrage.

Then came rain, powering down the sky, sluicing down the streets,

followed by the smell, the petrichor of warm asphalt and cement,

grass and dirt, lingering in the afternoon’s fading embrace.

Finally, there was tentative Robin song, announcing,

The end.