La Nina in October

Dumping, drenching, pouring,
Gortex flying, pushing me through the gray,
shoes sloshing, squishy wet,
puddles growing.

Hail pounding, lightning sending
cats scurrying, under the bed, valley rumbling
just ahead of the next flash.

Last week’s sun and sleeveless shirt
long gone in the bottom of the drawer,
where the fleece spent the
summer.

Coat rack dripping, umbrellas dug out from the closet,
needing the flashlight, the candle, the oil lamp,
necessity, now that
winter is
arriving
cold, unwelcome.

Neal Lemery, October, 2010