the rain
just pours
pours for days
swollen rivers
force their banks
geese confused
too fast
it flows
for them

the paper seller
closes early
green shutters
clatter their
warning

children
denied school
celebrate
and tease
along the narrow
stone bridge

heads down
silent adults
umbrellaless
dash away
until arcades
offer coffee
and endless chat

the deluge is accepted
stoically
unseasonal of course
but what is seasonal
now?

out in the fields
the vines
cold
stunted
the farmer curses
another bad year
he coughs
spits and
smiles to me
asking what?

06/17/2013