Hong Kong in June

Graying skies and blurring streets

Strings of lightning flash and beat

Puddled streets, rivers cold and brown. 

Winking lights brave the damp

Brooding crowds, umbrella jams

Rushing, pushing, slogging to get home. 

I shake the drops from my hair

Turn my back as the rain whips near

Clutching bags and books to my chest. 

Jumping at the thunder cracks

Wishing I were already back. 

The tram tarries; my toes grow wet. 

City lights may fill with wonder

Hong Kong food, the buzz, the plunder 

But on this day, joy floats away in the flood.