Rain Flowers
rain shears open
the drought in Austin
gully gushers flash barn high
sudden runoff uproots trees,
washes abandoned appliances adrift
discarded parts & pieces
create a medley of suburban refuse
the rush, a net, snags & drags under
whatever swims on the whirled current,
including an one adventurous teen
riding the wild water on a float just for fun,
his body not discovered by searchers until four days later,
backwashed into a tributary on the flood, dropped like new loam
the precious rainfall, a torrent, breaks open dormant seeds
over night they appear as white mist
this magic meadow sprouts in a prairie warren of tract houses
on the lawn of the house where the drowned boy lived,
the rain flowers resurrect
Date Published: September 23, 2023