Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Too Late

The rains came.
Precious water fell
Gurgling, giggling
Over the brambles,
Sweeping away  
Fields of dead crops;
Pouring, swirling, over  
incandescent animal bones
Carrying off the 
Dessicated dust 
Of the penitent,
The faithful, and
The oblivious fools
Whose prayers 
Were finally answered.

14 comments:

  1. Oh this is so picturesque! I can actually see the rivulets of water flowing here and there, doing what they do best :)

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  2. The end of the drought - a welcome relief! One question though - what does brambles mean in this context? Where I'm from brambles means blackberries and I wasn't sure if anything could grow in such an arrid landscape? Just interested, enjoyed reading and imagining this scene.

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    1. I was thinking more of tumbleweeds and other things that blow around after they die.

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  3. oh. fantastic imagery here. and i love the pace, too. very well done.

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  4. Really nice juxtaposition of the first short sentence with the rest of the piece in one long sentence. I enjoyed the idea that nature carries on, on it's own timetable.

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  5. You are very good at imagery. Such an evocative piece!

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  6. Ah yes, so we should all think twice before doing a rain dance! The imagery here is fabulous; your words tumble like the rain waters.

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  7. Lovely imagery and the gush of relief at the end was very well written, Tina.

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  8. I read this a little darker; not sure if that's how it was intended. I was thinking about all the folks who wish and hope and pray for rain, turning a blind eye to what we've been doing to the world. In any case, it's a beautifully written description.

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  9. The water sounds almost maniacal, giggling as it answered their prayers too late. I could see it happening as I read. We live in a world of drought and flood. Is this perhaps a warning about water management? Beautifully written. Thanks so much for your brilliant words.

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  10. I saw the darker side, too. Now I am thinking of "seeing" the rain as this amazingly powerful force--either in its lack or its overabundance. So timely with the flash flooding in AZ.

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  11. I thought this was very dark also--the rains that finally came are laughing at the fools who prayed for them since they came too late for salvation. This was very powerful. It reminded me of the Shakespeare quotation: "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport."

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  12. So the rain turns up late and then giggles and gurgles at the misfortune its absence has caused. Beautiful imagery of capricious rain falling on a desolated landscape.

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  13. How sad that the rain was too late to save them!

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