Sun and Rain

after Natalie Shapero

Some people say sun and rain together means a wolf is getting married
and some say a jackal has stolen the wolf’s new bride. Some people say
a bear, all combed and bramble free, is memorizing his vows and some say
it’s a donkey’s wedding day. Some call the rain noble and some call the sun
a glitter ghost. I want to marry the rain sometimes, bind it to me slick
and bright. But how long till I’m alone in knee-high grass?

Some say a tiger is marrying a fox and some say the fox is taking a bath
after eating paralyzed chickens. Some say the wolf is taking the fox
by the throat and all those happy vows mean nothing at all. Some say
a cat is giving birth and a deer is giving birth and the hyena is giving birth
and the one-eyed jackal watches in amazement. Some people say
a monkey and a donkey are getting married and they both carry a key

to the leopard’s suitcase that holds his tuxedo and wedding shoes.
Some say the rain is naked and the crow and fox are planning
the organ music for the processional. Some say the orphans are crying
and the grandmother holds a handkerchief of shadows. Some say
the sun is lying, and the devil’s daughter, who looks a lot like me,
is pinning a boutonniere on the lapel of a dog. I say rainbows

are a lot like marriages and mirages – it’s just a certain light that makes
them real. The fox is blind and the crow circles low over the field
and the gypsies dance with the devil’s wife. The leopard scatters petals
down the aisle and the witch lights candles. A ghost hides the ring in the
pocket of his pants. My husband, the rain, tells me he’s leaving. The sun
pats dry my grassy tears. I am, dearly beloved, hungry for cake.

Sandy Coomer is a poet and mixed media artist. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. She is the author of three poetry chapbooks: Continuum (Finishing Line Press), The Presence of Absence (Winner of the 2014 Janice Keck Literary Award for Poetry), and Rivers Within Us (Unsolicited Press). Sandy is a poetry mentor in the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program and the founding editor of the online poetry journal Rockvale Review. She lives in Brentwood, TN.