when it rains

I wonder if it rains on jupiter

Where there is no ground on which to fall

Where there are no leaves to catch the daring droplets

On their journey from the Sky

I wonder if it snows on saturn

Where there are no peaks on which to pile

Where there are no bubbling streams to guide the drowning ice caps

On their passage to the Sea

Tell me, is there Love on neptune

Where there is no one to love

And no one to be loved

And is there Passion on mercury

Where there is no one to desire

And nothing to be desired

Is there Trust on a shooting star

Where there are no promises to fulfill

Is there Faith on pluto

Where there is nothing in which to believe

And is there Hope on Earth?

Tell me, is there Faith and Trust and Passion and Love?

Where war-torn nations deepen fissures and scars

Satiated only by blood and terror

Where droves of plagues and pirates spread in waves

Leaving carnage and rubble in their wake

Where fruits and treasures slowly vanish

And nimble thieves exploit the molten marrow of the mines

To build their little semblances of structure and hearth

Where dying creatures concede their dying homes

And burning forests fall to satisfy the ever-growing hunger of metal maws

For only through destruction should progress commence

Still, raindrops glitter against the moonlit night

Still, snow trickles downstream toward the ocean

Still, the sun graciously spreads its warmth across the bleak landscape

Even on days of hunger and cold

And still, we love

We live with passion

We trust in ourselves, and have faith in those around us

And we hope that our short lives will end in peace and contentment

Before they are washed away again by the rain