Rain!
soak my soul
like the grasses,
feed me
divine drenching,
thirst quenching,
life giving
rain.
saturate my being
relieve
this arid desert heart
i bid you now
tomorrow is too late,
annoint me
with your heavenly dew
cleanse me through and through
Rain!
to be one with you!
if only i could rain.

------------
dedicated to father p.k. with love.
------------------------------------------
A toast
to the sealed graveyards
of our appetites
and
to the misconceived taboos
------
Our Lord
now plays
with creditcards
our destiny is cast
-------
An ATM shouts
“BINGO”
spitting money
well…
it is THE age
“COMMUNIFY!”
--------
“Come here and I will heal you”
All gibberish he spoke. She understood.
“Just you and I, us three, you. Mind?
I shit on your reflections”
--------------
She fainted past the giljotin.
He waved his arm, said
“keep it up. Oh baby”
She said
“No, let’s get down to it.”

A neon glared
“Hail Mary. HIT NOW”

*

She cut through darkness with a mindsword.
He kicked some girlies shin.
It didn’t hurt.
She thought “I might not make it home.”
He placed his sketch upon her knee and said;
“There goes a line from A to B
and in addition there’s a 30 degrees line
from here…..you see?”
----------
Then something in her rose
She thought “perhaps
but space is curved.”
-----------
A wall burst.
Germany invaded Germany.
----------
It works.
The day the "devil" comes to get you.
You won’t be far from home.
*

lets do the rain dance paul

I will dance your dance
Cringing, bad leg pulls me in circles
Dragging, bad foot smears a trail
Hunched, bad back points my eyes toward ground

But spirit sees the joy
Dim eyes note the lights
Heart feels the drumbeat of feet
Shoulders soften as joy arises

Smiling faces lift me up
Jerky dancing still fits in
Soft rain falls on a weary head
And I have been uplifted

7:30 a.m on Monday. I wait for light to turn green. It does. I surge ahead, one of a crowd of people waiting for the light. Three body lengths ahead of me is the umbrella man. Today his umbrella is staid dignified black. To me he is stranger number 6,045 in a city of 7 million strangers. The sky is sunny.

7:32a.m Tuesday. I walk my usual route. The umbrella man moves northward ahead of me. Today his umbrella is multicolored, like a Monet painting. Its partly cloudy, a soft wind from the south. No chance of rain.

7:31a.m Wednesday. He has a children's umbrella. It is plasticky yellow and curves down. It's two cartoon eyes stare at me as I walk behind him. Another sunny day.

7:40 a.m. Thursday. He's walking beside me. Today umbrella is adult and disconcertingly red, almost a blood ochre. For the first time in 8 and half months eye contact is made. One step, two step three step..he's still looking at me. He's tall, gaunt, 40ish I'd guess. His stare makes me speak in self defense, "Why are you caring that umbrella?" I ask.
He considers and says "Because somewhere in the world its raining". I slow down. He walks ahead. Minutes later he's blocks ahead.

7:25a.m. Friday. Today he had a black golfing umbrella. It was huge. He kept it partially undone to keep from hitting the people along side of him. It hung above him like a pyramid. I asked "Why that umbrella?"
"Because I cannot carry a cave around." and he kept walking.

For the next two weeks I ask him the question. Each time I get different answer. They're terse, humorous, maybe philosophical.

Two weeks later 7:28 Monday. Its raining. I wonder if I can spot the umbrella man in a crowd of umbrellas. I'm early and I stand by a light post so the commuter crowd won't drag me away. I see him, he's across the street waiting for the light. He's hunched over, his coat pulled partially above his head. He clearly doesn't like the rain. And No Umbrella!

I can't help by smile at the sight of him. As he crosses the street he sees me. He straightens up and pulls his coat down. Accepting the rain. As he approaches I have to ask him the question, "Why no umbrella?"

"Remember last Thursday's answer?" he says. I didn't. He smiles and walked away. By the middle of the day I remember. It was, "So I can gallantly help a young lady on a rainy day." So,..he gave it away.

Month after month I'd see him. Different umbrellas, different answers to my same question. Our paths only matched for 3 blocks. I followed him further one day and found out I was not unique. He had other regulars who would ask a question and get a short witty enigmatic reply.

One day before I asked the question, he asked if I'd like to join him for a cup of coffee. "Yes I said" This was certainly worth missing my bus for.

...........

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