A north wind came,

sending a welcome chill

into the ending of August.

We pulled lawn chairs

out of the shade and into the sun

on the first Sunday of September,

passed an hour

watching the horses

grazing in the thick grass

of what was once front yard.

I can’t remember

a change so sudden;

usually summer simmers on

into the middle of the month.

There hasn’t been much “usual”

in this summer:

heavy rains and high temperatures

and the river over its banks

ever since the first of June.

They say it’ll be down

by the end of the week

and that’ll be none too soon.

Prayer and stones

and a trainload of sandbags

have held the levee for this long

but eventually

even good people

can grow weary of their own petitions.

It is good

that God

is so much larger than us.

H. Arnett

9/7/11