I was thinking (2)

I was thinking

I’d go for a walk

Down to the library

To return a book

With a title I can’t remember

And that I never opened

Then stop by the post office

And pick up my mail

Check the creek for salmon

It’s time for their run home

Thrashing through rocks and current

To a soon and certain death

But I looked out the window

And saw the bucket

Filled with water

From last week’s showers

Raindrops began to bounce

From the surface

Fulfilling the forecasts

I’d hoped were not true

It rains all the time, doesn’t it?

this is the weather
they all
talk about

rain that vacillates
from a constant drizzle
to pounding, pouring

no umbrella can
withstand the wind
no coat can restrain the chill

the clouds hug my shoulders
weeping, dark
and shifting

seems it
will last forever
but I know better

it only lasts
long enough
to keep them away