Witness and Wonder

Water from the spigot rushes over red boots,

Pools gather rapidly around them,

brimful buckets sway back and forth

drenching plants already damp from the storm. 

Where would the world be without children

who fetch pails of water?

At times the kitchen sink is all they find

for the sacramental filling and pouring—

Whispers uttered over sour cream containers

submerged in a mixing bowl lake. 

People rescued, fires put out, boats capsized, 

the front of their clothing dark and heavy,

saturated with wonder.

At best, I am ready, 

towels in hand, raising shirts

bound to goose-pimpled skin. 

My breaths are deep,

pull the mind

back to the heart. 

Order is secondary.

Witness the moment

that cannot keep.