Blessing

orange leaves
lost in fog
a tree frog peeps

bracken ferns
bleached as old bones
quiver in the rain

pores open
nostrils flare

for the heaven-scent
of ground
after drought

raindrop-
dislodged leaves
flutter down

between rain-
darkened trunks
like bright feathers

as if from
a bird of fire
hidden in the clouds

the rain thickens
drowning out
all other sound

but when percussion
rushes too much
it turns to mush

you could stew in a tin-
roofed house
and listen