We were sitting with others
In the gardens of a small mansion house,
In the open air of some foreign café bar,
In the sun of Greece, Italy or a good British summer,
In anticipation,
In our future.
–
As I looked out over
The huge flat green expanse of Normandy lawn,
The childhood fields of Doldowlod,
The approach to a ranch in Texas,
The sky became violent,
black above us threatening the day,
fork lightening malfunctioned and
mowed down the lawn towards us.
A twister threatening the ranch.
The safest place is out there, I said to you.
Smelling the rain,
Breathing the wind,
Catching the lightning!
–
You were already making for the inside,
The old museum,
The art gallery,
The ambassador’s party.
With the others, hiding from the rain.
Your thin dress damp around your thighs.
–
As I carried your drink in for you
Through the French window,
Through the stable door,
Through the café entrance
I stopped
for a second
To kiss the rain.
–
2001