In the autumn rain
 
a man embraces his son,
 
then sends him to war.

 
 
 

Heavy autumn rain—
 
the homeless man discovers
 
a hole in his tent.

 
 
 

Early October—
 
we pray for drought-breaking rain,
 
but the sky stays blue.

 
 
 

Unexpected rain—
 
my neighbor’s giggling children
 
stomp through some puddles.

 
 

At the baggage claim,
 
one woman smells as fragrant
 
as a summer rain.

 
 

Trickling through the pines,
 
a summer rain makes its way
 
to a desert place.

 
 

On this clear spring day
 
my longing for rain deepens,
 
along with the drought.

 
 

As the drought deepens,
 
leaves rain down from my plum tree,
 
littering the ground.

 
 

What’s left of April,
 
a few more days without rain,
 
will soon pass away.

 
 
 

A late-winter rain
 
dampens the song of the dove—
 
I pack my suitcase.