It Never Rains But it Pours

It Never Rains But it Pours

Once
It would rain gently
Pattering on blackberry leaves
Making them tremble,
Just a little
Like kittens, gently licked
By their big
Cloud mother.

Once
We could sit in
Quiet voiced conversation
While raindrops
Lightly rummaged
On the roof
With the swift, delicate
Dance steps of mice

Once
We would finish our walks
Under low clouds
Even after the storm began
Hair damp,
Light clothing dotted with droplets
Dried almost as soon as we
Reached shelter
Before we ever thought of a change of clothes.

Now it never rains
But it pours
Needle sharp, needle hard
Ripping leaves from their stems

It pours,
Hammering on the roof
A giant child's
Jealous tantrum
Drowning speech and thought

It pours,
Driving us indoors
Blind with water, wringing wet
Cold and shivering.

It pours
As if the rain
Wants us to pay attention
Before all is lost
Before we are washed away
Off the cliff
At the end of the world