the sound of the rain

at first
the rain is a sound
of unaccustomed strangeness

the croak of rust
in a voice
that rarely speaks

and
at first the rain
is the sound
that the wind blows

moving leaf and branch
without pause for its breath

then the rain
becomes the sound
of a frog call

emerging
into the wet to speak
as to a mate

at last
the rain is the sound
of the wash of a car

hooshing waves
from beneath its wheels
in the darkness
of an early morning
as it glides
to work

~