No. 16 the other night the rain on the roof

the other night the rain on the roof

didn't make me anxious
as it has since the flood
a decade ago

and for a long time
i lay awake

and the rain on the roof
was as it was
most of my life, my life before.

the other night there was
the dear dog curled by my knees
and the dear child curled at my side

and there was their breathing
and their hearts
beating

and the dear child and the dear dog
and the rain on the roof
and all our breathing
and all our hearts simply

beating

worked a spell
with this dreamy, drowsy chant:

it gets
no better
no better
no better

than this.

--Zann Carter 04.16.09