Red River Review
Established 1999
Why We Wait for Rain by Luanne Castle
We wait for hours watching the dark unfurling
toward us, unsure
if it will land here at all
whether it carries thunderstorm or haboob
It smells like rain
bittersweet cocktail of sandstone & blossoms
still damp and quickening in the air
over ten thousand years
It’s why we wait for rain
tornadoes of dust don’t set off the scent
a drizzle dampening its branches
awakens the languishing senses
We wait to run through wet branches and shake
drops from our shoulders, caught
in the sharp unmistakable fragrance
wanting it to pool inside us in reservoir
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