After the Front Goes Through

“The rain will beat that pollen down. You’ll feel better,” Dad assured me. “After the front goes through.”

Yet, it’s never enough. In fact, the humid air left behind seemed to hold the allergens closer than before.

I asked, “What is a weather front, anyway?

“A weather front is a transition zone between two different air masses at the Earth's surface. Each air mass has unique temperature and humidity characteristics. Often there is turbulence at a front, which is the borderline where two different air masses come together. The turbulence can cause clouds and storms.”

Air heavy

Too heavy

To

hold

Hope

Breathe easier

Easily

Only once the front

Comes through

“This anger. Where does it come from? I don’t get it. How can they hate so much? And take all that time to express it?” Dad creaked his rocking chair to the rhythm of the morning news.

Dad acted as if the hate was new, in fact as if he’d never breathed it in before. Like the pollen, it was always there waiting for a critical point to be noticed, where it caused visceral effects. Runny nose. Burning eyes. The drip, drip un-itchable, down the back of my throat.

I asked more questions about the weather, “What causes storm fronts?”

“It can be thought of like the frontline in a battle, where the warm air represents one side and its 'enemy,' the cold air, the other side. Across a front, there can be large variations in temperature, as warm air comes into contact with cooler air.”

A distant curtain

Hung

A line

To

hang

Tight

Hot air, or cold

Find reason for the divide

As the front

Comes through

“I’m not due for my booster yet.”

I know this already. Dad counted the calendar days every day. His diligence to dates matched the weather reports. And yet, when the temperatures fell or tensions rose, what would numbers matter in this uncertain climate? Changed. Pandemics were perfect storms of the kind when the storm itself was only the beginning.

I asked beyond single questions, looking for patterns, “What do weather fronts cause?”

“When a front passes over an area, it means a change in the weather. Many fronts cause weather events such as rain, thunderstorms, gusty winds, and tornadoes. . . “

Wind

Cuts sharply

Too sharply

To

find

Balance.

“. . .Usually, the skies clear once the front has passed. . .”

Wounds

Spread unevenness

Too unevenly

To

not

Fall.

Will scrapes mend easier?

Uneasily

After the front

Comes through

Who can I ask but the sky?

But the sky

is

emptier.

The leaves' ghosts on branches from last year's storm cannot but share one haunted whisper.

Usually.