A girl stands ankle deep in dust, watching storm clouds
blot out a star-infected sky.
Her faded dress was black once. Her lips
have been cracked too long. She is imagining mud
beneath her feet. She is trying to remember
the color green. The girl stretches
her arms toward the sky. The heavy air ripples
when lashed by thunder.
Webs of purple lightning etch the night.
A bead of sweat falls from the tip of her nose
and the girl looks up as a cloud
finally breaks open.
She cries out when she’s
struck by hail.
–Art by Kaia Pieters