stratocumulus opacus

a thin film
of rain
is falling

curls
of mist
between folds
of hilled forests
are rising

a bedraggled
black drongo
perches
on a patient
branch

nine spotted doves
on an electric wire

wait
wet

an independent
stork
in white flight
over green paddy
glides under
a treetop

the sodden
cattle
crop
the sodden
grass

the syllabled rain
gives language
to leaves

a somniferous
susurrus

the chengi river
enthused
with rain
muddies
and eddies

no urchins fish
with outsize nets
no flash
of white
announces
a maturer hand

the parenthetic
ferry boat
has long ago
oared its
last passenger
from shore to shore

yesterday's fire
that felt
like heaven's ire
dissolves
in rain
and the pyre
loses its focus
behind
stratocumulus
opacus

-- Iftekhar Sayeed