Sundial Bridge, Redding, CA
a shuffle on the pavement,
an occasional trip-trap
coming down
at the same tempo,
target practice
increasing in accuracy
until its velocity
becomes more insistent,
a spring downpour,
the ahhing of earth
absorbing moisture,
then rain plays a trick,
comes down in lashes,
a punishment for hours
and doesn’t stop,
the ground can’t take it,
spills over in sobs,
becomes the background,
what we live with