it’s a rainy day in the antelope valley; Rainstorms in the high desert are unlike any I have experienced before.
Ominous black clouds roll in from different
directions,
sometimes from the east, sometimes from the west
and there is a sudden downpour
It feels like a deluge and suddenly stops.
The sun comes out. I spy a rainbow.
More dark clouds roll across the skies and suddenly
we have gusts of wind – and Can it be? Hail!
The back yard is covered with tiny white balls of ice;
The sun returns, briefly, long enough to melt the ice
and I realize the runoff cascading down our street
is a raging river.
I am afraid to venture out in this weather,
Content to start a pot of vegetable beef and barley soup
It simmers gently on the back burner;
the clouds lift, fleetingly,
long enough to reveal foothills covered with snow.
I marvel at the sight of snow, so close by
I can see it from my living room window.
its a different kind of rainy day
than I am used to experiencing;
I think I will have to find
some rubber boots
so I can walk in the rain!
Sandra Lee Smith
Originally drafted February, 2009
