Summer Rain Along the Contoocook

With torrents of steady rain

the Contoocook has escaped

its banks, covered walks,

and trapped the reeds

in green isles where

they rustle in the current.

Frogs in the nearby swamp

are suddenly sleepless.

Their raspy croaks continue

uninterrupted through the night.

The humid haze of morning

hangs heavy in the air.

Thoughts of cooler days occur,

but this is high summer,

which we will long for

in winter’s frigid cold.

Lainie Senechal