The earth splits like cracked lips,

Gasping as merciless heat ripples skyward.

Once-proud leaves curl into brittle scrolls,

Their emerald life bleeding into dust.

Summer holds its hostages:

Lizards press flat against stone,

Birds pant in withered branches,

While insects burrow deep below.

The world holds its breath,

Waiting.

Then—

A single drop falls,

Clear as hope,

Striking hot earth with a defiant hiss.

Gone in an instant,

But promising more.

The sky breaks open.

Rain pounds parched soil

Into dark silk,

As mushrooms push through

Like pale fingers reaching.

Green spreads like wildfire—

Nature's sweet revenge.

First the grass,

Then wild roses,

Their petals unfurling like paint in water.

Purple morning glories spiral upward,

While white jasmine stars

Pierce through darkness.

Life writes itself

In every shade of renewal,

Each raindrop a different verse

In earth's endless poem.