We are in a season so wet
even our imaginations
have forgotten what it feels like
to be dry.
The ground is a sponge
sucking at our boots,
and our shoulders have crept up,
as though the water will spare us
if we are stiff.
But as I walk through the forest
I stop for a moment
to appreciate how the rain
has made new paths in the earth
and how there are suddenly
a million shades of green.
I take my hood off
and I let my shoulders drop.
I’ve lived here for so long
and yet I’ve never taken the rain up
on its offer to do the same to me.
When I get home,
my family sees how wet I am
but it takes them days to notice
that my mind has carved new patterns
and how I carry
a million fresh shades
of hope.