The rain reminds us
of our dependencies,
and how small our world can shrink,
and how easily the kingdom of mud
slides on in

We fortify ourselves
with wood and with frugality,
remembering how we honor this darker season –
in the way of its exacting, not our own,
finding our cheer in our plans for more inventions,
and in the bright fire
and the returning green.

©Wendy Mulhern
November 5, 2022