November 8, 2016
When you see the clouds
and you know the gray
is the shade of gray
that ends in a mudslide,
and then comes the rain
you knew would come,
stiff rain and merciless.
But this is not about
the wall of mud that eventually
finds every room of your house.
This is about
the way you have plenty of time
to put on your boots
and grab your shovel
and your hat and your coat
and stand out in the rain
before there is any sign of mud
creeping down the hills,
that interval while the destruction
is still just an idea,
the inside of your home
still clean, still dry.