This evening there was fog, and then we had some blustery wind, but the rain has not increased or diminished in all this time; the same, slow, steady fall persists. There is some chance that it will turn to snow tonight, but if it does it won't be a very heavy fall. The next ten days are all likely to bring at least a bit of rain, and some of them may bring quite a bit. Though they are unlikely to bring snow at this elevation, there could be a decent accumulation in the mountains, which is good news. If winter continues thus there will be plenty of water next summer.
I'm still using the laptop, which is putting a strain on my neck, which I can't afford since my chiropractor will not be available until February. There's a chance I'll get a replacement desktop tomorrow and can go back to a screen that is the right height for me (and large enough to see without breathing on it and fogging it up.) Setting it up will probably be a long job, though, so I might not get around to doing much else. And right now I'm ready to go watch television and give my neck a rest.
Sunday Verse
New Year's Day
by Kim Addonizio
The rain this morning falls
on the last of the snow
and will wash it away. I can smell
the grass again, and the torn leaves
being eased down into the mud.
The few loves I’ve been allowed
to keep are still sleeping
on the West Coast. Here in Virginia
I walk across the fields with only
a few young cows for company.
Big-boned and shy,
they are like girls I remember
from junior high, who never
spoke, who kept their heads
lowered and their arms crossed against
their new breasts. Those girls
are nearly forty now. Like me,
they must sometimes stand
at a window late at night, looking out
on a silent backyard, at one
rusting lawn chair and the sheer walls
of other people’s houses.
They must lie down some afternoons
and cry hard for whoever used
to make them happiest,
and wonder how their lives
have carried them
this far without ever once
explaining anything. I don’t know
why I’m walking out here
with my coat darkening
and my boots sinking in, coming up
with a mild sucking sound
I like to hear. I don’t care
where those girls are now.
Whatever they’ve made of it
they can have. Today I want
to resolve nothing.
I only want to walk
a little longer in the cold
blessing of the rain,
and lift my face to it.
