Let Rain Be Rain by Danusha Laméris

Let rain be rain.

           Let wind be wind.

Let the small stone

           be the small stone.

May the bird

            rest on its branch,

the beetle in its burrow.

May the pine tree

             lay down its needles.

The rockrose, its petals.

It’s early. Or it’s late.

            The answers

to our questions

             lie hidden

in acorn, oyster, the seagull’s

             speckled egg.

We’ve come this far, already.

             Why not let breath

be breath. Salt be salt.

How faithful the tide

              that has carried us—

that carries us now—

               out to sea

        and back.

Let Rain Be Rain

Be it rain or wind or a small stone, Laméris implores us to allow each element to be what it is, to see it for what it is, real and true. The bird has its place on a branch, the beetle its burrow. May the pine tree / lay down its needles, as the rock rose lays down its petals. This is how it is, she tells us, just be present to the beauty of each of these things.

She seems to be saying that the answers to our questions can be found in the perfect simplicity of acorn, oyster, the seagull’s / speckled egg. In other words, pay attention to the world around you, look no farther than what is before you in the natural world. After all, We’ve come this far, already.

After all, why not allow our breath to be that which give us life, salt to be that basic element our bodies need – there is nothing to be changed. How faithful the tide / that has carried us, the tide of our days, our lives, a tide that takes us out to sea and brings us back again, and again. There is a rhythm to living if we do not resist, do not insist that it be otherwise.