A poem for 2017 penned in Malaysia

I recently spent time in Malaysia with my daughter and son-in-law and three grandsons. I penned this poem one morning as I sat and watched storm clouds gather and roll over the island mountains.

The gathering gray

   blowing in

   blanketing hills

   bringing rain

creeps across the landscape.

Wind whips and writhes,

   swishing, pouring water

   on roofs and windowpanes.

Puddles spring up

Rivers flow from concrete.

Thirsty palms, banana plants, bushes and flowers

   rustle and sway,

   imploring the rain:

   "Fall here; fall here."

Moving like the storm, constantly moving,

nothing stops people, commerce, traffic.

Rain coats on motorcycles,

Umbrellas at bus stops.

Like the earth, people are anxious for rain to fall,

   to clear the air

   to open space

   to freshen their steps

   to wash away sadness

   to heal their earth,

   "Fall here; fall here."