• Vol. 10
  • Chapter 07

Petrichor

Everything is better than it was:
lush green new against
receding black, rain prismed beams
wide across the sky. You shook at the
sound of a giant's fury, his tears;
I understand, indulged the fairy tales,
held your hand tight while you quivered,
kept you dry beneath my cloak,
safe with your sightless sister:
remember, I've seen it all before,
and the story is shaped in our favour.
This makes it better, the word
that I whispered as the sky shook.

Now everything is more and we
breathe the petrichor, marvel at the
reinvented world - a child's first
rainbow will always be the best:
a glimpse is enough; a second of sight.
Keep it safe and it survives.
I cherish mine, no need to see another,
a spectrum in my mind's eye forever;
I hear it too, singing colours in the
voice of my mother. I'll sing this one
for you now the day is free of thunder:
red, yellow, pink, blue. Believe in happy endings.
Everything is better than it was.

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