Thinking Out Loud: Fire in the Rain

November 13, 2026 - 7:00 am

By Kevin P. Henry for Thinking Out Loud

The blue wave wins by the Democrats in the midterms inspired me to write this poem:

Fire in the Rain

Footsteps growing louder
Like a fire in the rain
Keep looking over your shoulder
Feel the rhythm of the pain

Voices growing louder
Like a fire in the rain
We won’t forget the faces
Our mouths will speak the names

Feel the ashes singe your skin
From the fire in the rain
You can’t run from your reflection
When your heart knows who to blame

You may not understand our reasons
We don’t have to explain
The time for talk is over
When there’s a fire in the rain

Watch the planets shift
See the clouds roll in
You can’t wash the blood away
From a history stained by sin

You can’t turn off the volume
You can’t block out our light
We’re on you like a shadow
When you close your eyes at night

Thankfully, many people brought their fire into the voting booth in the midterms. In my poem I write, “We won’t forget the faces. Our mouths will speak the names.”

I am talking about names  like George Floyd. Andrew Pretti, Renée Nicole Good, and many others victimized by people filled with hate and violence.

In the poem, the rain represents the attempt to wash away the truth. But denying the ugly  reality of the past cannot extinguish the fire.

The hateful perpetrators of hate and violence know they are guilty of voting for toxic politicians or joining the attacks directed at racial and sexual minorities.

A battle was won in the midterms, but the war still awaits. Remember the past and focus on the present and keep the flames of justice burning like a fire in the rain.