Graham Nunn: STORM

The faintest drops of rain touch my face. The blue sky of morning is now peppered with clouds moving from the south. Leaves spin down from the tall eucalypts that ring the car park. My daughter chases the leaves across the bitumen, her voice lost in the crackle of quivering boughs. We run together to the bushwalk’s entrance dodging the now fat drops of rain. Each one kicking up its own miniature dust storm as it hits the ground. Beneath the canopy of trees the birds are active. Currawongs and lorikeets moving restlessly among the branches. Everything is taking cover as we take off, arms outstretched to catch the wind.

clap of thunder
two strangers
share the umbrella

by Graham Nunn

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

first published in Measuring the Depth, 2005