Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Leaky Roof




It seems to me that we've had more than our share of rain recently in this part of Ohio ... but without a touch of rough weather thrown in, thank goodness ... even just a brief interlude like that can make the heart grow fonder of sunny days ... but I noticed today that the gray skies seem to be magnifying the effect of the autumn colors, at least along the routes we were taking.


A recent morning seemed to start off with a bit of fog ... most of my mornings seem to start that way, even when the sun is shining brightly ... so it was no surprise when ... I woke up ... late, thirsty ... thinking foggily of clouds, rain, roofs, leaky roofs ... and this poem came to mind:

THE LEAKY ROOF


We knew just where


to put pots and pans

when the rain came
suddenly weeping

through our roof,
its pit, pat, pit-pat

lullaby lingering
long after the storm

had droned off into
distant, grumbling

thunder, leaving
a morning residue

of splatters
and puddles,

blankets on a line,
featherbed sprawled

like a newborn calf
broadside of the sun.


© 2001


(received an honorable mention award in Ohio Poetry Day competition; subsequently published in my first collection, Chance of Rain ... Finishing Line Press, 2003)








Today's word: grumbling