“It takes a raindrop approximately seven minutes to fall to earth from a 4,000 meter high cloud.” NASA Global Percipitation Measurement

At dawn
a raindrop begins its descent.
The journey will take seven minutes.

Somewhere in the distance
grocery store lights flicker on,
a clerk straightens boxes
on a cereal shelf.

Just down the block
an attendant turns on
the island of gasoline pumps.

Around the corner
grills are wheeled out
in front of the hardware store,
anticipating warmer weather.

Street lamps
begin to flutter out,
as the sun
pulls itself over the horizon.

At the marsh,
I am already deep in the woods
heading toward the bright sound
of a red-headed woodpecker
at work.

Around me —
common yellow throats,
Carolina wrens, black-capped chickadees,
Easter bluebirds,
great horned owls
build a chorus
as the raindrop
hits a supple new leaf.

*inspired by Billy Collin’s “Winter Trivia”.