Kate McManus – Rain

I am the rainwoman of the tribe, the one who thrives as it pours, comes to life in the sodden condensation and liquid moving earth. It’s during such times that members of the tribe visit; most in the liquid daylight, some fearful of being seen in the precipitation of night. They want to know– the present, how long it will last if it is fair, when it will end if it is foul. Those who thrive in current times are the most nervous, fearful of their good luck such is their childlike knowledge of spirit and the gods so I tell them:

‘Tears come from a sacred place within, a place that has never seen daylight. Do not fear them for they are the flow of life.’ 

They do not listen but respect my role and are soothed by the consultation even though they’ll never think of the wisdom I have offered.

Still I dance in the mud, slashing the liquid earth with brown feet, my red ceremonial dress flying, feathers of crow, and flowers of corn adorning my head. I do not question the impulse, I am the rainwoman of the tribe. 

I haven’t told you my story and more importantly why I haven’t told you my story. What do you imagine? I, like all of us, started life swimming in a womb with gills and tails that fell away as I grew. I was born during a thunderstorm, the initiator of a month’s worth of pelting rain in one day. The Seer pronounced: This one knows water, before blessing me with his own sacred water.