Feeling the Wind and the Rain

 Feeling the Wind and Rain


Today I braved the heat and walked out to my garden. 

It was still morning, and if I was going to catch up on weeding,

this seemed to be the best time.

I put on the same clothes that I had

sweated through yesterday.

They could get sweaty and dirty again.

And I sat down amidst the weeds

and started rescuing the tiny lavender

and zinnias, and beets and tomatoes 

and peppers and fennel plants.

It was good. The ground was already

damp enough so that the roots came up easily.


I was so intent on clearing away the weeds

so “my” plants could have an easier life

that I didn’t notice it had clouded up.

I did notice the wind, which was refreshing.

It allowed me to keep working,

not getting too hot. Then I started noticing

random rain drops coming down.

And I thought, no need to quit!

I am already sweaty. Rain would feel good!

And it did feel good. I kept weeding, moving

over to the poppies and pennyroyal,

the  four-o–clocks and squash, the chamomile

and catnip and kale and hyssop.


By then, the rain had become a tempest.

Why didn’t I just get up and go inside?

The wind was lashing the trees back and forth,

the heavy rain coming in sheets, hard and fast.

Yet maybe I had bonded with the plants so much

that I just sat there like them, still pulling weeds, 

feeling the wind and the rain, planted in place,

imaging my roots being happy,

soaking up the precious water.

I moved over and started on the lettuce,

the snapdragons, cucumbers, sweet potatoes.


And then I realized it was one thing to enjoy

being out in a storm, but once the thunder and

lightning started, I might be pushing my luck.

So I scrambled up to my feet,

made my way out to the sidewalk

and on up to my home,

rain still coming down hard,

wind whipping me from side to side.

I was grinning! I might look crazy

walking in this storm. But I was having a great time!

I experienced what the plants feel

in a storm. And it was an adventure!

Comments

  1. Mary KirkpatrickJune 10, 2026 at 10:44 AM

    This makes me smile!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joyce MillerJune 10, 2026 at 11:09 AM

    You're definately not suffering from Nature Deficite Syndrome !

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 10, 2026 at 1:59 PM

    I could read this again and again. In fact, I have! During this same storm this morning, I remember when that thunder and lightning began, when the wind whipped that rain into a frenzied storm. There is too much to comment upon, in this poem! I love it. I am very glad you went inside -- happily soaked -- when the storm entered its more dangerous period of time! -- kh

    ReplyDelete

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