I’d like to see the rain come

Gentle and warm

Reviving the chipmunk

Our dog killed last week

Or healing the nation

Grieving its inability to change

I’d like to see the rain come

Gentle and warm

And do impossible things

Like making our dog regret her instincts

Or those in power their lies

And listen to the rain

Gentle and warm

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones,

 who cry out to him day and night?”

(Luke 18:7)

"On the Pulse of Morning" was written for the first inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993. It cautioned the new leader to think first about the long view of history.