Rain

The robins have hatched, grown, and taken flight
And now the fledgling takes shelter 
Beneath the hazelnut tree
Under the watchful eye of a great black threat —
That tiny ball of fluff that arrived
Just ahead of the winter’s last blizzard
And shared my bed through long days of recovery —
His loneliness and my illness.
Now twice the size, he peers across the grass
Head low in the posture of a great hunter
But he’s still scared of the dark when I’m not with him.

We planted summer many weeks ago
But the seeds may never take
The rain just won’t let go, and the sun
Needs a good polish to coax it to shine.
There are summer places I have yet to go
And summer faces I won’t see this year
So it might as well rain a little longer

I’ve packed my books away, become another number,
And tacked a new string of letters after my name
But the songs I listened to that night were bittersweet —
A celebration of sorts, in favoured company,
Overshadowed by the albatross waiting in the wings
To carry me back to the land of the living
When the executioner’s axe fell —
And I still sing them today, sometimes in my sleep
While painting my dreams in black and white
Complete with sub-titles, for I dream in narration —
The writer that I am — but like dewdrops in the sun,
Dreams don’t last beyond the night.  

So it might as well rain
A little longer.




Janet Reid
july 2008





Awarded by Poetic Constellations ~ Lorrha



  
Awarded by Poetic Constellations ~ Dawn



Awarded by Poetic Constellations ~ Dawn ~ August 14, 2008