Aridity

What is a thunderstorm if no rain falls,
And nothing washes down into the sea?
If nothing changes, can it really be
A thunderstorm, whose very echo calls
On memories of sudden waterfalls
Exploding on the unprepared? Can we
Imagine thunder without rain, or see
A dark, uncloudy sky, within which crawls
No streak of lightning, while we hear the crash
And still believe the thunder that we hear?
Or must we think it is imagination
That conjures up the noise without the splash
Of raindrops on the street? There is elation
In empty thunderstorms - but also fear.