Something about morning rains that feels 

totally right and perfectly timed. 

I mean, I can't put a finger on it but it feels

almost like the real cleansing from everything  

yesterday. 

It's 3:36 am and even though life is some 

three hours away before our side of the world

gets noisy with whatever humans busy themselves 

with, I know deep down, we are many who are awake 

for whatever reason.  Guess what is making the moment 

beautiful? The pre-dawn rain of course!

I can say with a full-blown boldness that's unafraid 

of a contrary opinion that we all gather at this converging 

point of agreement: pre-dawn rains are perfect, no buts or ifs.

The best part of the rain is how it starts: like John the Baptist,

the chill breeze announces the soon to arrive downpour.

I only wonder between the sounds of rustling winds before morning 

rains and the squeal we hear when power is restored, 

which delights the soul more because, from my perspective, 

the former almost always means sleep, or just lying on the bed, 

is about to be a blast of an experience. 

Pre-dawn rains almost always set us on a great start because

you wake up to a world literally washed — especially when the drainage 

system in your neighbourhood hasn't been converted to

dumping channels — and the roads take on a sparkling shine. 

The air is cleansed from the smell of whatever went down 

just the day before and need I mention, the sweet petrichor 

becomes the perfume even the sands release. 

Looking at it through a different lens, the same way rains, 

especially the morning kind,  somehow makes life lighter 

with the weight of clouds a memory, 

no tear should be buried under the guise of strength; 

it is okay to shed tears, you deserve to feel that light

and renewed for the new day. Declutter the weight 

within with the therapy of tears; its efficacy is beyond debate.

If the raindrops — as light as they are — can cleanse the earth 

and bring a promise of growth in plants,

allow the softer things in life to cleanse 

what experiences might have hardened in you,

let them permeate and soften the hardness that has 

become your heart and let love grow in places

your Nigerianness has turned to stone. 

Buenos dias.