All day, the air pressed against skin
like steamed towels, heavy and damp.
Not a leaf moved. Even the bees
seemed slow, as if they were rowing
from one drooped blossom to another.
And through it all, one wish prevailed:
Relief. Then, as if the one prayer
had finally reached the required level
of ascent, the sky took on the color
of marmalade and the trees began to dance
in its glow, buoyed by a cool wind filled
with the fragrance of rain. And when
it came, falling from the luminous sky,
all the earth, revived and joyous,
sang.