[call it the greenhouse effect or whatever/ but it just doesn't rain like it used to./ I particularly remember the/ rains of the / depression era./ there wasn't any money but there was/ plenty of rain./ it wouldn't rain for just a/ night or/ a day,/ it would RAIN for 7 days and 7/ nights/ and in Los Angeles the storm drains/ weren't built/ to carry off that much/ water/ and the rain came down THICK and / MEAN and/ STEADY/ and you/ HEARD it banging against/ the roofs and into the ground/ waterfalls of it came down/ from roofs/ and there/ was HAIL/ big ROCKS OF ICE/ bombing/ exploding smashing into things/ and the rain / just wouldn't/ STOP/ and all the roofs leaked-/ dishpans,/ cooking pots/ were placed all about;/ they dripped loudly/ and had to be/ emptied/ again and/ again./ the rain came up over the street curbings,/ across the lawns, climbed up the/ steps and/ entered the houses./ there were mops and bathroom towels,/ and the rain often came up through/ the / toilets:bubbling, brown, crazy,whirling,/ and all the old cars stood in the streets,/ cars that had/ problems starting on a / sunny day,/ and the jobless men stood/ looking out the windows/ at the old machines/ dying/ like living things out there./ the jobless men,/failures in a failing time/ were imprisoned in/ their houses with their/ wives and children/ and their/pets.]
"We Ain't Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain", Charles Bukowski
