Coup de Foudre by Lauren Hyunseo Cho (17, South Korea)

I step
Into the rain, tiptoeing
Amongst the fallen leaves
And flowers. The air, eager
Lover, clings to me, infatuated follower
Of LED suns and stars.

---

I watch the rain
Drip from trees, painting their limbs a near-
Black red, distilled beauty. I watch it glide
Down the street, into the gutters,
Whisking away the dirt and grime, the skin
And hair and broken bones and hearts.
The wind picks up, shrieking charms
And curses, children’s lullabies. The low
Rumble of thunder from afar,
Coup de foudre*, growls, and I turn my face
To the rain and kiss its drops. They caress
My lips. They burn my tongue.
My teeth fall out, one
By one.
The umbrella slips from my fingers and slides
Amongst the rotting
Leaves and flowers. They stick to its transparent
Canopy, molding themselves into a picturesque
Reflection of the skies.
 
*Coup de foudre: a French phrase describing “a sudden unforeseen event, in particular an instance of love at first sight,” according to Oxford Languages.