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Rain Upcountry

Ivan M. Granger, Ivan M. Granger poetry, Secular or Eclectic, Secular or Eclectic poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, Yoga / Hindu poetry by Ivan M. Granger
(1969 - ) Timeline

Original Language
English

Secular or Eclectic
Yoga / Hindu : Advaita / Non-Dualist
Contemporary

Twin mares,
bay brown,
huddle and huff
beneath the eucalyptus.
Goats gather there
too,
sharp-eyed,
waiting.

Beneath his hutch
a rooster darts
his head, black and red,
out
and in again.

And here I stand

lacking the animal sense
to step out
of the rain.

 

2003

 

 

Themes

  Water
 
 
 
 


Recommended Books


For Lovers of God Everywhere: Poems of the Christian Mystics, by Roger Housden
Poems of Awakening: An International Anthology of Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Betsy Small

 

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This is a poem I wrote during my Maui days, living in the rural "upcountry" region along the slopes of Haleakala volcano.

People often associate Hawaii with beaches and sunshine, but it is a land of microclimates -- drive ten minutes in any direction and the world has changed from desert to dense jungle, from sun, to fog, to rain. Some days the raindrops just float suspended in the moist air, waiting to settle onto your cheeks. Other days, the rain drives down to crash upon your crown, like heaven demanding entrance.

Rain can be a metaphor for the celestial drink, the juice of heaven that descends upon us. When it lands, everything else disappears in its wash.

We might imagine the animals as being aspects of the personality, with a natural sense of self-preservation and desire for comfort. The rain comes, and they instinctively seek shelter.

Then the question beats in your heart: Today do you too find shelter, or do you stand open to that celestial downpour?

 

 


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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
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