Waiting for Rain Again

The air is thick and heavy today, a result of no rain
for a week. Every day feels denser than the one before
and I feel a tension everywhere as though everyone
waits for the great deluge. Last week the nightly
bouts of lightning and heavy rain were welcomed and
enjoyed, but this week the waiting makes me twitchy.
I should not hope for rain for it must make life
desperate for the millions of homeless around here.
Although what some call home is really four walls of
corrugated metal sheets enclosing a square the breadth
of the sidewalk with a tarp thrown over the top.
When we pass these corrugated neighborhoods, I'm
always surprised to see padlocks bolting the door
shut when the windows (cuts in the metal panels)
are wide open.

One road we frequently drive on crosses a long stretch
of undeveloped swamp land. The left side of the road
is all buildings, stores, apartments, and people while
the right side of the road is a wall separating the
road from the swamp. Trees grow alongside the road
in measured gaps along the footpath. Some
individuals have chosen to live along the sidewalk
so I always see laundry hanging out to dry or naked
little children struggling to stop their mother/sister
from washing them. The interesting parts of the
scene lie high up in the trees - hammocks are strung
from bough to bough. So I suppose at night these
guys climb the trees to sleep.