Weather or Not

The weather just IS
So don’t take it personally.
Oh no one wants to freeze waiting for the bus
Or get soaked just before the big event
Or sweat too much
Or toast that bald spot on the back
But there isn’t much you can do that isn’t
To some degree just foolish.
You either assume a philosophy
Of play the weather or let it play you.
So brave the storm
Or stay in safe and warm?
A layer of Gore-Tex, 4-wheel drive,
So defy the heat and dry?
Arctic air conditioning
Irrigated lawns
And climate control?

It’s a control thing.
We can channel rivers
And level mountains
Why not wring the sky dry
Or make it snow only at ski resorts?
Render the places where no one should live “livable”
(While rendering the rest of the world UN-livable)

I have a couple barrels that catch water
Which I use for my daily shower
(They used to hold 55 gallons of guava extract
And I think the diluted remains are giving my hair a glorious sheen!)
It is a humbling lesson
Wondering if there will be enough
Wondering if the gods will gift me with a few more gallons…
A lesson much of us need to learn.
We assume, turn the spigot
There is water!
A lesson many more know is not the case
On long walks to get a muddy gallon.

So I am learning not to assume water
Or other life resources
I am not a master of the universe...
And I know storms and droughts do take their toll
But this active control
This need to make the desert bloom
The mountains snow
To fill dry cities full of fountains and flowers?
To live in the eye of hurricanes?
I don’t know if it’s worth the hassle…
Or even very wise…

“Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go
Let it go! Let it go! Let it go!”