Rain, each drop raising a powdery cloud,
a grandmother's kiss on the cheek.
Even this much is welcome, we send it east.
Her grey shadow finds his,
a rising wholegrain storm with flecks of hell.
Licking life from the land with cackling greed,
he hisses, fingers reaching deep into blackened hulls.
The earth answers with a flag of surrender.
She holds them close and tells them a new story.
Dawn is slippery with velvet rivers and glowing memories.
The new pulse is quickened, and soon the
hills are decked with unseasonable Spring.