DESERT RAIN

I used to love those rainy days

Silky grey veils, all torn, the smell of stone

Of earth made wet, the scorched sand dampened

The sagebrush dripping, granite glistening

Sweet relief to a thousand thirsty creatures.

For weeks and weeks, the world hard-baked

Under the sun’s relentless, busy flame

The summer ovens stoked forever, tirelessly

by that same sun.

Our feet, our throats, so parched, so dry –

And then it came, that sweet, soft, quiet sound,

a creeping, sizzling, rustling, nuzzling

So tentative, like insects shyly fluttering

Like children stealthily devouring fruit

And from the heated earth, a mist arose

As soil received, absorbed the falling water

As quickly over as begun.

Never a drenching, never quite enough

The earth, still thirsty, craving more

was left to dry and crack again;

Our feet, our throats that welcomed moistened air

soon coated once again with dust

And in our hearts, deep longing for the rain of rains

A soaking, quenching, cooling, gushing flood.