The Blessing of Rain – a poem by Carol Alena Aronoff

The Blessing of Rain

The meadow folds in on itself
with an approaching squall.
Tall grasses lean over,
form shelters for mongeese
and other small creatures:
a casual benevolence
mothers know.

The air sizzles, sky larks wing
back to nests and hatchlings.
Kukui leaves tremble, turn upward
showing silvery slips. A lone
frog takes cover beneath
a banana leaf. Does it need
anything? Or think of death?

Prelude to the deluge, wind
drives clouds across grim sky,
then bows in silence at Gaia’s
altar. The momentary hush
is filled with holiness, everything
just as it is. Rain’s benediction
descends as truth, elixir
of unspoken mystery.

Carol Alena Aronoff, Ph.D. is a psychologist, teacher, poet. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and won several prizes. She was twice nominated for a Pushcart.  She published a chapbook and five books of poetry: The Nature of Music, Cornsilk, Her Soup Made the Moon Weep, Blessings From an Unseen World and Dreaming Earth’s Body (with Betsie Miller-Kusz).