After the Drought...

You may have heard that we in the Southwestern United States have been suffering a drought that just, this past weekend broke. Believe me when I say … we needed the rain.


After the Drought…

It had threatened all day,
but had done so before…
when there wasn’t moisture enough,
and what was, evaporated too soon—

weathermen
in their wisdom,
said, virga—
I prefer, the raindrops that didn't—

then, to my surprise and delight,
a splat on the pavement, then another,
and another
until—

it was raining big
scattered drops
that made circles in the dust.
And that smell, that glorious odor—

as the drops fell faster
and covered the ground
and cleansed the air,
like a gift from the Goddess.

The saguaro swelled,
their ribs expanding
like magic
as they drank in the moisture—

and the birds,
oh, what a racket they made
until, the rain was a downpour
and they hid in their shelters—

I, by this time,
was soaked to the skin,
but oh, what a marvel,
to have rain—

the ground sucked it in,
and the foliage,
used as it was to desert conditions
turned up its leaves, its needles—

reaching for the moisture
that so long had eluded
this land with so little to offer—
and nothing to squander.

Vi Jones
©March 14, 2006