99poems/clarity

Rain is an event.
Suddenly we all know
what we’re doing
or need to do:
stay inside, keep dry.
The cats straggle home,
one at a time,
to discover or remember fire.
They stare more than usual
then curl up on the blanket
at the end of the couch.
A clarity comes over me.
I understand my life,
walking purposely through the house
in my favorite dance shoes and leotard.
I’ll have to dance since I can’t walk.

Soup for supper.
The day at my desk.
Rain takes the world away
and gives us back our life,
the way we always meant
to live it.

11/14/97