There might be other rhythms here,
rain in the gutter, metallic tick and trickle,
rain on the window, the hum
of spaces in between —
rhythms to hear when the stereo’s off,
music against the quiet

You get your message across
by listening, more than by speaking,
by finding, like these raindrops,
the place where understanding trickles in,
and where it glances off,
and needs to be collected, redirected

You listen, and your message finds its way
like water, into the waiting ground.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 27, 2018