Breaks

So: here is our moment
Frozen
We've seen our seven, unmoving in their lonely homes
It's been 4:18
And dawn's still hours off yet
My god and they are cold and listless
Not quite sure that they exist
Here in this moment
Slow and viscous
Lips haunted by the ghosts of kisses
There is the endless saturation of the days and here they are
There is nothing moving but their breath
But watch now
As the breaking storm outside
Brings this moment into action
The sky cracks into a wild mouthed grin
And unleashes all the water that it's carried
Vapour grown heavy from every distant puddle, every lapping wave-tip, every churning river
Contributing to this
Rain
Now Pete on his doorstep, he looks up, mouth agape
And he drops his key in shock and laughs a howling ancient laugh
The lightning charges through them
Rips the sky and startles every roof in stark relief
And they see their city
New
Esther hears herself shout a strange bark into the silence of her kitchen
Jemma sits bolt upright in bed wide-eyed and she stares at the rain as it smashes itself against her windows
Zoe puts her boxes down
Bradley reaches for his dressing-gown

Now see it from above
Seven doors to seven flats open at the same time
And light the raining pavement
Seven broken hearts
Seven empty faces
Are heading out of doors:
Here's our seven perfect strangers
And they see each other
Strangely dressed, one shoe and one slipper, socks falling off, smiling, gathering slowly, tentatively in the middle of the road
Shielding their eyes at first but then tipping their necks back, unhunching their shoulders, opening their bodies up to the storm
And their hair is flattened against their heads or puffed up madly outwards
And their hands slip off their chins and cheeks as they clutch their faces open-mouthed
"Amazing!" they shout
"You seen it?!" they shout
As they walk like children
Into the eye of a game and band close, close, shocked and laughing, soaked to the skin