City Rain
City rain melody
Moving tears to wild flowers
Growing quietly
Overlooked
In a corner vacant lot
Others sprouting pushing up
From a curb muggy hot
Abandoned buildings house
Today’s traffic
Standing, sniffing, hustling
Hollowed out before noon
A cracked, rock filled, concrete playground
Rusty, fenced jungle
Lined with skeleton shrubs
Waiting for their buds and weeds
Shrubs and weeds
Urban morning stillness gives way to fog
Steam misting from the manhole plates
Sewer drains and rain
Drink up the gutter’s
Waterfalls
Pattering on the sidewalks
And rain, rain, rain
Melody from black thunder clouds
Then blue skies leaking through
On sunlight beams
Moving tears to wildflowers
Coming freshly up to the city light
The light of day
Of horns and chatter and music
Playing from the crowd
Washed from the showers
City wild flowers
Blooming bright.
Poem by Gary Adams
Gary passed his poem on to me and I was delighted with the flower picture he sent. Gary shows us about his city and we did have a chance to chat. He is from Oklahoma and has led quite a life and saw a lot of the world. He will soon be publishing a book. Here’s what he had to say:
I’m retired from the Federal government. I am from Oklahoma. I graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy in 1971. I have sailed all over the world and also worked on tugboats in New York harbor and surrounding areas in New Jersey and Long Island Sound. When I came ashore, I received a Masters Degree in Library Science and worked in academic and federal libraries in the late 1970’s. I then worked in transportation and logistics for the U.S. transportation Command until I retired in 2009. I write poetry, and am compiling a book of my works which I will self publish.
Gary has had quite a life and I am looking forward to more of his poems.
These are the daylilies and chicory that delight me in the summer.