The Storm Came Knocking

the storm came knocking quietish, just

fingernails on windows, just

the creak of dry eyes rolling, just

exasperated outbreaths, and

feathers plucked from bird-breasts, and

seed heads snapped out empty from

the fists of ancient summers, as

cloud-drummers playing rimshots got to

testing out the timpani, but the

thunder bred a litany, and the

wind blew up a mutiny, while the

orchestra were tuning, up

scuppering the teacups, the

candle wicks extinguished, the

squeaking of the catflaps, birds

caught in reckless hedges, on

ledges pigeons hunkered, on

the roofs the ridge tiles riddled, and

the churchyard railings rattled, down

the street the refuse slithered, and

the rain came down like penny drops, hit

the tarmac like a cannon, flooded

gutters, bollocked drainpipes, swept

the rubbish from the bus-stops, sent the

people running homeward, to their

kettles and their blankets.

Those was written in response to the #FromOneLine prompt on various social media platforms (Twitter, Bluesky) 

The prompt gives a phrase which must be used as the first line of the piece.