Pink Think: “Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.” – Roger Miller*
photo by dyrk.wyst on flickr
This endless rain beats a tattoo,
a memory of a tropical place
where I grew my writer’s wings.
I was twelve when we moved
to a government housing project
that was more concrete than castle.
I tended an orchard
by way of a meandering stream
full of slow dragonflies I liked to catch
until the heartbreaking day
we were told the land was not
ours to tend after all.
So instead
on my way to school
I skipped over puddles
filled with little tadpoles.
No matter what I did
I couldn’t stay dry in my shoes
which left blue on my ankle-high socks;
got wet under my umbrella,
and cold through my red sweater
that said “Hug Me”.
Still, on stormy days
if we were lucky
we got to stay home in the dark
no electricity, just candles;
making wax figures
and trading ghost stories till we quaked
like the trees outside.
After school, on weekends
my room was my refuge from Rain
where I wrote my stories
on a gray typewriter.
Today
I live in the desert
but when the rain comes down
as it has a lot lately…
I am back in my childhood home again.
*Confidential to Drew: I just had to use this Roger Miller quote
***
Do YOU like rain? Why or why not?
Follow