The rain is not something we have earned,
nor did we earn those morning moments
before it came,
when light and leaf and cloud
revealed their splendor

But it is something we can revel in –
its sound on the roof, the quails
running around snatching up seeds,
the deer skittish as they browse,
the ground greening and softening

It is something that brings up gratitude,
like subtle colors deepening in contrast,
like clover seedlings springing from the soil.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 5,  2021