Something Greener

My favorite color used to be yellow
but now there is too much sun for that.

Too many oranges and reds
invading the cool blue of the sky
reflected in the moon-dark of the night
and seeping into dreams
where I can't find shadows anymore.

The creek dried up in August
and the sun built
mountains of grey clouds out of it.
The grass dried
and the leaves shriveled up on themselves
searching for a last drop of water.

Then the rain came--
a proof that hope is something worth having
and a water that cleansed the spice
of a bright sun from all
the places where it had welled up
beneath my skin.

And even as thunder ripped the grass
and lightning felled the weakened trees,
and torrents of rain sprouted
murky patches of mud around the yard,
I imagined something greener.