According to
the National Weather Service
Hurricane Isaac
will make a sharp right hand turn
about fifty miles
too far south of here
to bring us (me)
any relief
from the drought.

It would be pretty easy
to complain
about this
or
the four more inches of rain
that came last week
to my colleagues
only twenty miles from here.

But I find it easier
to feed an extra bale of hay each day
to the two horses
standing in dry pasture
than to sweep
the mud and flood
from the rafters of my house.

This reminds me, too,
somehow,
that it is far easier
to give alms
than to endure poverty.

H. Arnett
8/31/12