What the west wind brings is rain    lots of it
but not today   dry as a bone    Patsy
calls it the change   El Niño
                                  I take her
into my arms       a tsunami of love
pours out of me : : : neutron stars are about
to explode     Patsy showers     I open
my books     My thoughts fly up—it’s 8 a.m.
Out on the street a black dog is barking
An omen       Now it’s rolling in the dust
somebody please give it a bone to chew
on    My teeth need fixing but I cannot
bear my dentist.
                    “So get another,” Pat-
sy says, “and change that awful shirt it makes
you look old.”
              “I am old, sweet child of mine.”

John Lyons