Driving slow to swim
Through the quicksand rain in my
Underwater car.
Draw the gray blanket
Over the steaming asphalt,
Let the rain come down.
Wash away the crowds
And pour us a brief reprieve,
You rain-laden clouds.
Thousands of gallons
Rushing down furiously,
All spent in an hour.
The heavens open,
A trillion wet fusiliers
Unload their salvo.
Skying through the rain,
Its flaps hypnotizing me,
An ibis in flight.
Florida’s lesson
For the artist: its storms’ re-
And de-crescendos.
He and I wondered,
Where do the butterflies go
When it rains like this.
Luminous master,
How do you view bloody seas
And still see yourself?
Invocation rain,
In hurricanes she dances
Into calm at last.
None but the fog
Reveals the pearls of dew strung
On each web, each tree.
Percy and Franklin,
I still think about you two.
May we meet again.
Talk to me Norman.
Any whisper you breathe
Makes my soul lighter.
Oh my darling George,
I'll never forget seeing
You in the preserve
Next door, (far from home to me.)
You came back with love's ascent.
Steve, what a blessing
To see you running to me
With warmest welcome.
Little striped ducky,
What is your name I wonder,
Our friend Zebra's child.
Zebra moved along
With a few of her ducklings;
We'll always love her.
Wonderful Helmet,
You most amazing mother,
Your little white head
Reminds me of the Mama's
Before who mothered our friends.
Edgar's soft whirring,
A duckling nipping the air:
Little things they do
That remind me of Granite.
How he loved his blueberries.
Cities built upon
Cities, and languages built
Upon languages.
Black- or yellow-stripes?
Gliding its circuit, insect
With a zebra's name.
That we'd have a home
Where cranes call and dance out front—
What a wondrous gift!
That they'd choose our yard
To open their wings and hop,
The cranes have blessed us.
Rain, rain, never stays;
Sudden showers. Like your face—
Missed on the dry days.
