First Hard Rain
Rain pours on skylights
a persistent drum
The uneven tattoo
a lullaby—
my heart yawns wide
As daybreak brightens
no wind, not yet
firethorn is still
Rain, fill the reservoirs
crown
mountaintops
with yards of snow
spring’s new promise
Valley farmers watch
fearful the manna
will slide away again
to water elsewhere
I’m not willing
to worry the future
worn stone in hand
no longer—
a lifetime of that
Instead praise what is
syncopated rhythm
rain sheets down