Sprinklers in the Rain

Years ago the city terrified me; I did what I could to avoid paying it any visits. Lately, it’s where I’ve been going to understand.
Just moments after the sunset, a gentle, humble rain began. It was as if the sky wasn’t able to commit to producing a real storm, like it didn’t want to tell the entirety of what it was holding inside; a feeling I know all too well.
I took a few wrong turns which I told myself were accidental, but I knew they were of complete intention. I tell myself I shouldn’t waste gas, but I also tell myself I shouldn’t go home without feeling something.
I thought about all the other cars that may have used this dead end road to turn around, and I wonder how many were also intentional, how many were also just wasting gas.
As the dim headlights shone through the now endless fog, they shone on a sight so profound, but so faint.
As the dark, endless clouds let down a steady, simple rain, the sprinklers in this yard were running at full speed. I laughed and wondered why they hadn’t checked the forecast; such a simple yet expected step. Sprinklers in the rain? What an uneconomical choice; just like my wasting gas.
Before I was able to pass judgement for these who failed to check the forecast, I remembered that I do the same thing.
I have so much rain in my forecast, but I still choose the sprinkler; so unnecessary, so artificial. I fail to turn the sprinkler off and put it away; I fail to see the blessings, the most beautiful and natural of all. I focus on my sprinklers, making sure they’re turned on and properly adjusted at full speed, and I fail to stay in tune with my forecast.
It continues to rain well into the morning, and I continue to think about how simple it all is; a blessing or a curse, the rain falls where it may.
And I suppose the rain falls where it may, whether or not we check the forecast or take the wrong turns, wasting all our gas.
Sprinklers in the Rain, 6.8.18