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124
Dog-days I
Rain-running Recalled
Hard wind, rain; I the only one out here.
Wind on my back, rattle of rain on hat,
Hissing of rain on sand, and beyond that
The noise of the big waves; and small and clear
A whimbrel's call in the din as I draw near
A roaring down the cliff and over the fl at
Hard beach -- an hour-old river I halt at,
My glasses streaming. The world is a bright smear.
Into a gale now, and the ocean sound
Drowned out by the new howling of the air
Around my head, then even louder pounds
The hough! hough! of my lungs inside this blur
Of boisterous air, cliff s, water -- startled mind
Along for the ride, body with its old kind.
August 11, 1978