Keeping a little girl awake listening and watching
droplets of tears pitter patter on her window
The night sky is crying tonight
lightning flashes and thunder pouts
The sky has been crying for three days and four nights
flooding Ratchaprarop Road
where cars have become riverboats
stalling in the dock of traffic jams
Where brown water splashes
on students’ white button shirts and blue skirts
soaked from head to toe in their school uniforms.
Yet. They are determined to catch a bus to school.
Vendors scatter for shelter
under umbrellas and plastic cover tents
salvaging food, trinkets, and clothes
Everyone is trying to survive.
Farmers in Chachoengsoa
Digging ditches
Building irrigation systems
Catching every droplet
Sustaining their lives
Miracle tears from the sky
enriching a once dry infertile ground
Now cultivate thousands of lives
having a choice not to work
in the congested pollution
high-rise towers, mega size malls, and massage parlors
reuniting families to stay in the province
The farmers look up
calloused tired hands embrace in gratitude
“Khob khun Pra Jao” (Thank lord Buddha)
Water is life
Let the sky cry tonight.
Ah, I remember! The site with the awesome photograph! Well, now that you’ve drawn me back to your blog, I’m going to have to slam a critique down.
First off, I find the subject matter very intriguing. It would be cool to hear this spoken, especially since I have no chance of pronouncing some of these names (though I had fun trying). The riverboat cars and the uniformed students sloshing through the muddy water are big wins for me in terms of imagery. My biggest concern, however, is I’m not sure what kind of tone you’re trying to set at the beginning. A crying sky is somber, but then there’s some cuter images like pitter-pattering rain and pouting thunder that kind of contrast the seriousness of the situation. However, I enjoyed when you turned it around at “Miracle tears from the sky,” so that what was once said is actually a joyous and miraculous event. Kudos!
It was good meeting you today, Wanda. Remember to keep writing!
– Clint P.