If Rain
…and when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
—Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
for a second he trusted me
he let go of the coffee table
long enough to grab hold
his brand new hands around my index fingers
I sang our favorite song
I feel good boodum boodum boodum boo
I knew that I would boodum boodum boodum boo
he stutter stepped to the left
he stutter stepped to the right
then bent his knees to bounce
his james brown diapered bottom up and down
he held on tight but always fell
I always helped him up
my love can’t do me no harm
and we felt good
he learned to let go longer
to walk to run to dance
to ride a bike then motorcycle
(as it turns out not well enough)
outside the hospital
a willow sways in the wind
the wind that pushes the clouds
the clouds that make the rain
the rain that fills the blue green lake
where the willow dances
I think if rain were a tree
it would be a willow
and for a second
the earth drums underneath my feet
—Bruce Dethlefsen
