For Waterman
Only small rain falling this morning,
Light but really welcome,
The dry Sonoma hillsides
Bound to green up,
Vines going to be
Heavy with ripe grapes.
True, streets will be slicker,
The oil surfacing,
But still manageable, and
The kids heading off to school,
All of them bundled up,
Some with umbrellas,
They’ll complain a bit
About having to be
More careful than usual,
Not a bad practice,
It’ll work for them,
For us too, but undeniably
Broader than all
These efforts, the land
Itself easing back into known
Patternings, somehow forgotten
For years, forgotten
And heedlessly abused.
Now the time to go about
Our usual ways, breathing,
Feeling, moving around,
Taking care of tasks,
Getting on, with the rain
Softly falling everywhere,
Country music thump and whine,
Coffee going cold, dishes to do.
–Ken McKeon