The Coming Rains

All day the mountains rose behind a veil of smoke
from burning fields
and road dust dyeing black skin bronze and the road rolling like rough sea
it’s quiet now just crickets and a dog fight somewhere in the far away
in my heart i hold your photograph
and the thought of you comes on like the feel of the coming rains
hot breeze ran its fingers through the long grass of a thatched roof eave
they stuck me in the only chair they had while they cook cassava
and a luckless hen
they asked for one well three lanterns and 200 litres of fuel and
i said “who me?”
and the time for planting’s coming soon
and the thought of you comes on like the feel of
the coming rains
in the town neon flickers in the ruins
seven crows swoop past the suscious moon
if i had wings like those there’d be no waiting
i’d come panting to your door and slide like smoke
into your room
all day the mountains rose behind a veil of smoke from burning fields
and road dust dyeing black skin bronze and the road rolling like a rough sea
it’s quiet now just crickets and a dog fight somewhere in the far away
in my head i hold your photograph
and the thought of you comes on like the feel of
the coming rains