Falling

.

Long before daybreak

none of the birds yet awake

rain comes down with the sound

of a huge wind rushing

through the valley trees

it comes down around us

all at the same time

and beyond it there is nothing

it falls without hearing itself

without knowing

there is anyone here 

without seeing where it is

or where it is going

like a moment of great

happiness in our own

that we cannot remember

coasting with the lights off

.

~ W.S. Merwin
from "The Shadow of Sirius"

art by Bertha Lum

.