mercy drops
who knows why old hymns
rise to the surface
but I found myself
singing about showers
of blessing for no
apparent reason
other than the rain
hitting my windshield
wipers keeping time
until I got stuck on
two words mercy drops
I almost stopped and
ran under the rain
hoping to be drenched
in kindness and love
then I heard the words
in a different way
mercy as a noun
not an adjective
something to be dropped
like a new record
hoping to be heard
or a pan full of
chicken that turns the
kitchen floor into
a schnauzer buffet
sometimes on purpose
and by accident
you hold a handful
until mercy drops
in a world full of
flooding and monsoons
maybe mercy needs
a new metaphor
say mercy drops in
like a friend who risks
asking forgiveness
and not permission
because they know the
weather of our hearts
droughts and depressions
and somehow I’m back
to the rain and my car
mercy drops ‘round us
are falling amen
Peace,
Milton
PS–the poem also took me back to a song I wrote with Billy Crockett long ago called “Mercy as the Rain.”
