LINTNER: A hint: Have a nice day

I can’t believe the weatherman

  Would want to tell a lie.

Although he told me differently,

  There’s no sun in the sky.

He said it would be beautiful;

  A day to take a walk.

It seems his call for “bright and clear”

  Was really only talk.

If I had known, I could have stayed

  Tucked snugly in my bed.

But here I am, with tot in tow,

  And raindrops on my head.

I’m huddled in a coffee shop;

  My son’s beside my chair.

Lightning flashes ’cross the sky

  And thunder fills the air.

What started as a pleasant stroll

  Became a maddened dash.

I’m stuck here ’till the raining stops

  (or I run out of cash).

I can’t believe I’m caught like this;

  I should have had more sense.

Instead of getting thinner now,

  The clouds are growing dense.

I took a weather spotter course

  To learn to see the signs;

To pick up on the subtle hints;

  To read between the lines.

If I’d been watching, I’d have seen

  The dew point start to spike.

The barometric pressure drop

  Would mean, “Don’t take your bike.”

There were a lot of cirrus clouds

  Aloft the past few days.

Those mares’ tails should have been enough

  To hint at wetter ways.

The radar could have been my guide

  If I had cared to check.

And we would now be safe and dry,

  Not soggied all to heck.

I s’pose if I lived on a farm,

  I could have watched my stock.

The cows would all be lying down,  Like giant hairy rocks.

I might have looked outside last night

  For rings around the moon.

As wives of old have always known,

  It means that “rain comes soon.”

The maple tree that shades our yard

  Could offer me a clue,

With leaves that curl in humid air

  When storms come into view.

As well as gray, the clouds were low;

  A hint of coming rain.

I should have added up the signs

  And saved myself some pain.

The skies are getting lighter now,

  And Tommy wants a snooze.

Before I take him out again,

  I’ll double-check the news.

The radar on my phone is clear,

  Without a sign of green.

The air outside smells wonderful;

  The city’s fresh and clean.

I’ll have to say, there’s one good thing

  About a sudden squall.

It stops you short and makes you sit

  With naught to do at all.

Relax, and wait, and people-watch

  Until the storm has gone.

Ignore the fact that you will have

  a tall and shaggy lawn.

Enjoy the day and don’t forget

  That soon you’ll see the sun.

And even when it’s raining out,

  I hope you have some fun.

E-mail Audrey Lintner at gardenherald@hotmail.com.