“They want rain without thunder” – Frederick Douglass, 1857

for as surely as one,
so, too, the other;

the rumble follows
the rains; the rains,
follow the rumbles

history tumbles
into this present hour,
how we act today
transforms into
what becomes
tomorrow’s stories

the rain follows
the rumble; the rumble,
following rains

for as surely as one,
so, too, the other