Engulfed

[Lizzie]

This is one of my favorite serious poems from you, Kole. It's got lots of nice images that 'press the imaginative play button' as Todd says.

The naked air ran off -- Naked air is an inventive way of saying dryer weather. Nice. I like 'ran off' because it both describes the haste which which it left, but also it's a nice play on 'run off' which is a water-related phrase.
as the rain clouds drop their water gowns, overflow the river mouth. -- I like water gowns. It doesn't personify the rain as good or bad, but almost elegant in a way. I like the assonance between gowns and mouth. I think that almost personifying the drops by saying 'their' gowns is a nice bit of interest -- I always like a bit of anthropomorphism when talking about the natural world.

The nearby town carved into the land
slides off the bedrock and memory. -- I like the idea of sliding out of memory -- this is a good connection of a concrete detail and a more theoretical notion.
The old woman sails away on shingles, -- I'd say 'An old woman' since you haven't referenced her before. Minor. Again, it's interesting that 'sails away' doesn't feel negative or positive. There's maybe a bit of sadness in sailing away, losing memory, but not anything that feels violent or unjust.
never found, burying debris. -- Buried in debris? It sounds like the woman is burying debris.

More hurricanes this year.
Too much rain
drowned the crop.

They'll pay the higher price
to make up the loss. -- I think that moving from the loss of life and memory to fiscal loss is a bit anticlimactic. But, I don't hate it. Again, it's minor.

Again, I say well done