Sometimes

Sometimes
I need the rain.

The cooling shower
to stop me from wilting.
The downpour and thunderstorm
to clear the air.
Or just the cloudy parasol
shading me from the intense heat.

Yet

Sometimes
I need the sun.

The clear blue heavens
encouraging to grow.
The bright light
to awake and flower.
The warming sky-fire
then I can ripen.

But to bear fruit
Sometimes
I need both

by Ian August 2011

art by 5-year-old Mari Lee