In the morning after the rain,

fog settled in the hills and trees

across the fields and along the creek.

The first bit of sun

lit a fringe of rose

in the shroud hanging over the valley.

For weeks, the river has run

hard and heavy,

high on the levee.

Sheriffs and soldiers patrol the berm,

watching for sand boils

and signs of weakening,

knowing that the river

will turn the slightest breach

into headlines.

The heavy rains upstream,

snow in the Rockies,

and decisions made three states away

have kept the current roiling

through the trees

along the Missouri.

We know that we are undeserving,

no more righteous than those living

where the dirt barriers have broken

and turned farms and towns

and lives

into swirling brown pools,

but we still pray,

asking God to hold back the flood,

to spare Elwood and Wathena,

to keep the roads to work open

and keep safe the men

who walk on the levees

we are praying for.

H. Arnett

7/6/11