Rain
Parched, the dry brown grass,
taut the earth, tighter than a drum.
Footsteps echo a rhythmic, hollow sound:
marimba music with death tones.
No joy in the barefoot beat of heel and toe.
For months now, no rain has fallen.
The fire crackle is feared in the forest.
Elsewhere, trees catch and the woodlots blaze.
What good are showers, dry thunder clouds,
building, always building, but never releasing
the surging tide that this commonwealth needs?
We yearn for a thick blanket of cloud to gift us
with the long, slow soak of an English spring.
The grass speaks out with its many tongues,
each as sharp as a blade, and calls for rain,
for liquid to pour down from the sky and end
the dryness of drought. We need to fill the wells,
to let the streams overflow with the bounty of water.
We need the green, green grass: not this baked,
bare, arid crunch and crumble of taut brown earth.
rogermoorepoet 
This is my favourite image: ‘The grass speaks out with its many tongues,
each as sharp as a blade, and calls for rain’…I have been reading many drought poems lately…we’ll soon have a new genre like ‘love poems’. Yours is excellent 🙂
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Thanks, Janice. So glad you like it. We had thunder and lightning yesterday evening, but not a drop of the wet stuff. As for a genre, well: not a bad idea. I saw in the Guardian that 60,000 farmers in India had committed suicide because of climate change and the failure of crops and animals. We are living in a troubled and troublesome world. Best wishes …
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Yes there is drought and there is DROUGHT. We’re fortunate not to be in the more arid zones.
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The forest fire season hasn’t started yet, and we have fires already. Let’s hope for the best … and yes, it could be worse.
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After my last comment I realized that it’s impossible to generalize impact any where…I can’t imagine being near forest fire smoke, having to evacuate or being a farmer and going bankrupt because of too much or too little rain.
In dry conditions perhaps rain dances will make a comeback 😉 Hope you and I get a real rainstorm soon.
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A rain dance … now that’s a great idea … sympathetic magic … I’ll start rain dancing in my morning shower!
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Perfect imagery as always Roger.
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Thanks, Allan. The clouds are dark. The thunder is rolling around. But the rain isn’t falling. Not here, where it’s needed. And we need more than a rapid “swoosh”!
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Thunder and lightning last evening, but no more than a couple of spots of rain.
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Lovely rain.
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W do need it. A good long slow shower …
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Yeah.true.
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Yeah.in summer,every body needs rain.but dear roger!!i think dt in Canada where every time seem snowfall then that place should not be waterless.am i right.plz reply.
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We are not waterless: lots of aquifers and artesian wells as well as plentiful steams and lakes. They all shrink in summer though as surface and rain water grow less.
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Oh.dear moor!!dis is reality-now i have understand.
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Feast or famine…you need rain, and we have had too much. It is lusciously green here though. Beautiful imagery. Love the layers, Roger!
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Thanks, Tanya. So pleased to see you here and to know you like the poem. I’ll e-mail you separately. I’m still trying to get myself back together!
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I’ve been having issues with my computer, especially on WP…
Trying to sort it. But I’m here.😊
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I think my IMac is on its last legs … oh dear … e-mail on way. Hang in there.
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The picture and the word imagery are breathtaking.
Loved it!:)
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Thank you so much. I wish our lawn was that green: we are walking on crisp, brown, dry stalks in places. We need some rain … and not just a downpour but a long soak!
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I understand that fairly well.Dry spells can suck out all the zeal and vigour.
Hope you have long stay of rains soon!:)
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