After a month of drought
carnations fell.
Wildebeests pounded on the ground.
Rain curled like lianas
on the trellis.
Wind sighed like childbirth
delivering new hope.
I tasted the sky on my mouth
and I was happy.
Happy like solitude hearing a voice.
Shoulders unburdened.
My hands like craters filling with water.
It wasn’t thirst that drained me
or watching trees wilt
and become silent.
It was the need to be filled.
To hear the arrival of rain
in the distance.
A beloved face coming home.
The heart’s heart returning,
giving me back
the bread of a rose,
the excitement of a dance.
The world
opening its arms
and laying down beside me
after a long absence,
with a peace deeper
than the nakedness
of the stars.