this rain started days ago
and has not stopped
long enough to take out
trash recycling the dog
I never knew clouds could hold so much water
I read I slept I stretched
I cleaned the kitchen
scrubbed the toilet
convinced myself
toilet bowl cleaner fumes could kill me
I opened the window
it rained in
I never knew clouds could hold so much water
I put on music
I danced
I called my mother and hung up on her
I tried not to think
I read some more
I slept
my dreams worse than reality
I drank coffee
stayed awake for days
typed and wrote and worked
tried not to think
I never knew clouds could hold so much water
He left for work
did not come home for days
It was busy
Very busy
he went to sleep
I stayed awake
to watch him dream
tried not to think
listened to the rain
Kingston resident Stacey Brody holds a degree in agriculture from Rutgers University. “My last semester, I had room in my schedule to finally take a creative writing class,” she writes. “I had missed poetry and was thrilled to find my way back.”

