Downhill

well the universe appears

under no compulsion

to make itself

understandable to us

and god too

is in no great rush

to let all be known

it’s even worse when

the two get together

as they sometimes do

over a glass of wine

at the end of the day

sharing their observations

about creation splashing

their ideas across the sky

like some fabulous sunset

then everything seems

beside the point

but nothing ever lasts

in this theatre of decline

clouds eventually disappear

there is that light at dawn and

the hill on which we live

continues its joke about

redefining at short intervals

the direction water flows

curving sloping twisting

this way and that

meandering patiently

to the punch line

as it is wont to do

we are an uninspired audience

building improbable gardens

planting unsuspecting trees

our hearts ever hopeful

even when cold water

pools in the wrong place

for a moment reflecting

the names we’ve given

to a few bright dots

of the sky’s wisdom

last night a

fantastic overture

of uninvited rain ended

followed by a gust

of the great north wind

ushering an artic front

clear across february

leaving morning frozen 

flush with frost

so much so

that we had to wait

for a winter sun

to thaw the soil

to uncover

as wet

follows wet

the latest path

downhill