there isn't any reason to believe 
that yesterday’s flood
waters pouring from the sky
rivers rising
a drenching downpour dripping
from dark nimbus accumulations
washing debris of uprooted trees
backyard plastics foams rubber
toys and tools
would bring a clearing
sandbags laid evacuation plans
made delayed
this rain washes away graves
the past is never safe
tomorrow is never certain
a gray curtain of endless ocean
looking for itself
falls in a wall
precipitation precipitating questions
of faith (remember Noah
who never subscribed to the weather channel
he just mucked and mopped
watching the skies
for a hint of blue)
these are muddy times
no solid ground
holding dusty footprints
only the shmuckling muckle
of puddled boot treads
for no matter what
there are whiskey and cigarettes
supplies needed for the night ahead
a night of rain of watching
the drops crash into windows
like small songbirds breaking their flight
to slide unconscious 
down to the ground drowned
bone-broken birds
but water is not blood
even in its splatter
the clatter against metal roofs
they say that every drop of water
that is has always been
so why is that not true
of the ancestors who are now me
a step on their journey
as I am a moment of indecision
chosen by my descendants
who wait like unfallen rain
for their time of yesterdays
no guarantee
that any of this will let up soon

Adam Rabinowitz