Rain Songs

Every time it would rain She would cry I never understood The pain she felt At the sound of the rain beating down on a window pane It was profound and unnerving I would hold her And dry her tears But nothing stopped the tears Wet sidewalks And puddles in the park Rivers raging wild And old trees soaked by monsoons I put my head on her bosom And prayed For anything that would stop the tears And finally she would stop And get up and leave me alone She would sit out back on the stoop Smoking a cigarette and talking about a boy A boy from Vietnam Lost so many years ago In a different place and land She was a Navy nurse then And things were different The rain on the tents at night and the cries of the dying Young boys Reminded her every time she heard the rain Of heartbeats, so many heartbeats stopped by the rain