byOfelia Zepeda
- The sun has moved over that way a bit.
Here come the clouds.
They are so very white,
They are so very big,
As we sit here and wait for the rain.
- Here come the clouds.
They are carrying the rain.
It is the Seed Blackening Month,
As we look up in the skies and wait for the rain.
- Here come the clouds.
The rain smells good.
The breeze is refreshing and cool.
We feel happy as we wait for the rain.
- Here come the clouds.
But the clouds have just gone by.
It is not going to rain,
The clouds have lied to us.
We are the Papago and we sit here and wait for the rain.
© 1982 Ofelia Zepeda. From When it Rains: Papago and Pima Poetry edited by Ofelia Zepeda, University of Arizona Press, Sun Tracks Vol. 7.
This poem is also available in the 'O'odham language.
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