BEE LB ( to be read in front of a live studio audience

today, rain. it pours & then passes, pours
& then passes. & never once a rainbow.
grey skies from here to there. there
being anywhere the sky ends. today,
chickadees lining the rail, drenched &
drip drip dripping all everywhere. the sky
dripping too, & me along with it. we’ll
all drip together; the birds, the sky, & me.
hello, spring! hello, april showers! hello, unsettled
feeling in my chest that won’t lift no matter how still
i lay! how are we all doing today? we’ll pause
just long enough for you to answer before moving
on. now that i look closer the sky is a dusty
blue. do you blame me for lying? exaggerating?
whatever it is us poets do? listen, i’m only trying
to get by here! it’s been raining all day & there’s a
conductor between my eyebrows & i’m just waiting
to draw lightning to ground. the chickadees flew past me
just now— i wonder where they’re going, where they’ve
decided must be better than here. the geese are staying
put & i’m stuck along with them but imagine, for a
moment, picking yourself up & just taking off.
today, here. tomorrow, anywhere else.
& in between, a whole world to choose from.