Let me wake in the night
and hear it raining
and go back to sleep.
– Wendell Berry (“Prayers and Sayings of the Mad Farmer”)
The lullaby that soothes my brain,
a metal roof under rain, proof
of gods and goddesses on the job
while I rest completely—let night
take me unafraid anywhere it wants
until the glistening of puddled mornings
blind me with glimpses of paradise
upon this earth, wet and wanting
nothing more from rustic religions.
Every church should acoustically angle
its spires and ridgelines to accentuate
these heaven’s gifts—and to withstand
retribution’s thunderous roar while
renting and gnashing huddle beneath
the storms that flood the rivers muddy.
We are not the architects, nor the nomads
chasing rain from place to place with herds
anymore. We pray instead for basic
sustenance to run upon and off our roofs,
season after season—no two the same—
to wake in the night and hear it raining.
All my life that is a great sound.
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Wonderful writing. I also love to hear the rain when I’m in bed. 🙂
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This evoked the tin roofs of my childhood and the prayers for rain. Rain is in my prayers for you John. x
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Jane, we did get a about 1.2″ on 7, 8 & 9th of February, followed by warm weather that has really helped the grass. Also, the wildflowers have begun to bloom about 30 days early. Not sure where all this warm weather is going to take us, but the rain will hold us for a couple of weeks. Thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers.
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‘We are not the architects, nor the nomads / chasing rain from place to place with herds / anymore. We pray instead . . .’ Incredibly lovely lines . . .
Blessings, John . . .
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Thanks, Peter.
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Beautiful writing.
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Thank you, Angeline.
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If not already the prayers of us all, I fear it soon will be.
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It would be a loud wake-up call, wouldn’t it, Richard?
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It needs to be screamed or we’ll need to acquire a taste for dirt and concrete. (as someone somewhere lays another lawn) Go ahead and build the Keystone but put water in it.
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