Contributor: Brian Baumgarn

- -
First rain of spring.
Cold.
Driven on a
harsh northern wind.
Welcome, though.
Filling the dry, gaping cracks
in annealed soil.
Restoring earth from an
unyielding, austere winter.

Essential, though coming as
a bold remnant of winter's
glacial will.
Awakening the raw,
callous earth.
Refreshing the dormant
winter air.
Mollifying the soils
for blade and seed.

Frigid and stinging,
yet still a harbinger.
Verdant spring's first birthing breath.
Warmth will come.
Skies will clear.
Today, wind driven rains signed
a new lease on life
for the broad, northern plains.


- - -
65 year old working with developmentally challenged men. I started writing again, about two years ago after many years. Writing brings serenity. I live in Sioux Falls, S.D.