Rain's Coming In

I can see it on the radar on

the computer coming west 

from Veracruz… time enough 

to go out, get a sandwich 

and come back.

I was talking to my friend, L., outside the 

coffee shop this morning, smoking cigarettes. 

L. is a Scot, been around  the world, busted in 

France for selling dope, spent 3 years in  prison 

there, two more in California for making fake 

I.D.s. He said, aside from County, after about 

three months in prison (at least where he was), 

it was just normal life. The punishment was, in 

fact, over. In France, he said, the only thing 

that got talked  away was your liberty. Prisoners 

were treated like human beings. He had a list, 

once a week, where he would check off items he 

wanted, like, tobacco, cheese, cold cuts….

and each person got  a six pack of beer each 

week. I asked him what it was like when

he would be released after he had served his 

sentence. He said  for the first few weeks, it 

was shocking, like Christmas, and delightful
and exciting. Then it became just normal.

I have four rooms, a small 

enclosed yard, a refrigerator 

and a stove. The rain isn’t here

yet…I think I’ll walk outside

and have a cigarette before

the rain comes, then, go inside

and enjoy the thunder…clean

sheets and rain like music.