Sound In the Rainforest

Sound In the Rainforest

I hear the drip from leaf to leaf
like a drum on leaves the size
of umbrellas

As the rain comes
In earnest
The sound of water
becomes deafening

I hear the
Swirling, rushing,
Of the torrent
Down tree trunks and
As it boils around my ankles

Tapering off
The volume recedes
Back to
drips on drum-leaves
The tempo slows
Thump, thump, thump.

Water gives way to
Short silence
Replaced by life
Capuchin monkeys growl and howl
Macaw pairs bicker and scold
While their wings whistle above


Ken Goree