The River from the Rain–Eric Paul Shaffer

The River from the Rain–Eric Paul Shaffer

The river spoke of water in high places, glowing

where rocks gave voice to the flow beside the lightless path.

I could only listen. Stumbling along the bank,

 

climbing into the coming storm, I saw no light

but clouds dull with a full moon and fierce with lightning.

 

At the cabin, rain clapped a gusty patter in waves

falling through wind. All night long, I lay beneath a roof

 

made musical by the scatter of drops. In a darkness

pierced only by my ears, I lay listening, and till I woke,

I didn’t know the river from the rain.