How the Rain Cloud Came

Like a dark veil drawn over a body.
Like the slick spread of oil on water.
Like a long exhale of cold breath.
Like the erratic, building warmth of spring.
Like the slow hardening of a scab.
Like the gradual softening of ice.
Like fire smoke filling a room.
Like hunger emptying in your belly.
Like the soft round bulging of a pregnant woman.
Like the day by day death of a love affair.
Like the creeping arrival of night.
Like the whispering arrival of dawn.
 
Like so much and then only like itself:
a dark, quiet rain cloud; slow and sure.