Spring

Today was the first spring thunderstorm I’ve been around for. The lightning (the kind that lights up the whole sky like day) and the thunder (the kind that sounds like the thunder you hear during the staged sound at a play) showed up before the rain (the kind that was a torrential downpour at some points and amazingly light at other points, leaving you to guess which part you’d be caught in). I picked my steps carefully as I walked through campus tonight, the streams of water coursing through the walkways, little bursts of wind seemingly coming from the ground, blowing up at my hair and umbrella, cooling the air. And the defining spring thunderstorm factor-it stayed around for hours, achingly easing itself through town, flooding the streets, causing us to listen for its fading departure.