The Rain Maker Poem by Bill Simmons

The Rain Maker



He stepped off the train
With a suitcase in his hand
The many sticker labels
Told the places he had been

Being followed by four men
Who carried his crate along
With a walking cane in his other hand
They strolled through the town alone

They placed the big crate down
In the middle of a city street
The sheriff walks out to him
This stranger he would meet

I've done a lot of strange things
And this might seem quite strange
But are you the one we sent for
Are you the one who can make it rain

Our crops are all dying
We've tried others around
But if you can make the rain come
You will be a rich man in this town

The stranger pulls out a wishing rod
As the whole town gathers to see
Then he breaks it across his knee and says
I want it to come to me

He says, I want half the money
Before I ever begin
Then you can pay the other half
Once the rains begin

He removes the lid from that big crate
And they turn it upside down
Out poured was a cannon
With a thousand packaged rounds

He reaches down and he picks up
A fist full of dry sand
Then tosses it to the wind
For the direction it would land

He mounted up his cannon
On the top of that big crate
And loaded it with a round
And for a moment they would wait

The people laughed and scoffed at him
They didn't understand
His wire glasses and pin striped suit
Technology of this man

Then he fired his cannon
Almost straight up in the sky
White dust was seen in the air
As it exploded way up high

He then loaded up his cannon
As he had done before
Thirty minutes was his mark
You could hear that cannon roar

For seven days and seven nights
He filled the dust filled sky
The people thought a lunatic
Didn't understand the why

The people grew impatient
Thought a fool was in their town
They wanted to see the man in jail
So the sheriff came around

They threw the man in jail
And quiet the cannon lay
But at three am they thought they heard
The cannon again they say

The sheriff says unto him
This noise is just to much
I can tell by the sound I hear
Your friends haven't given up

The old man looked at his pocket watch
And said, It's just in time
Then laid back down on his cell bed
With a smile and an easy mind

Then all at once the heavens
Opened up as if in rage
Came forth a storm they had never seen
Came forth a heavy rain

The thunder and the lightning
Was raging in the sky
A bolt of lightning hit the very crate
As the cannon lay near by

The wind blew and it thundered
The lightning split the trees
The people they took cover
They could not believe

The hail that began to fall
One could hear the sound
Like a hundred thousand rifle rounds
When it hit this tiny town

The people they all gathered
After ten days of nonstop rain
The rain that they asked for
The rain that had came

They all met at the City Hall
The sheriff they called in
We didn't believe he could bring the rain
Look at the mess we're in

You can't see the city streets
The water is to deep
There are no crops to care for now
Washed away like the streets

This rain seems to never cease
And the thunder never ends
Many windows are broken here
And in our homes since it all began

Is this stranger still in jail
Sheriff, you must let him go
Let him know we're sorry we scoffed at him
Its up to you to you to let him know

Pay the man and let him go
Let him leave this little town
The rains are washing away our homes
And soon will take this town

The sheriff goes to the cell
He unlocks the door
The old man sits waiting patiently
Like he had been through this before

I'm sorry sir, they didn't believe
How can such things be
The old man smiled, reached for his cane
It's time now I should leave

The old man walks out onto the porch
And as he stands he looks around
And the rains stop, the clouds break up
And the sun starts shining down

The sheriff walks out to him
Says sir, I don't understand
Then he reaches out to shake the hand
Of the parting little man

The old man smiles and looks at him
And says son, I'll say this to you
When you pray, take care what you say
Sometimes it will come to you

The old man left and was never seen
But the cannon it still lay
Now its mounted in the market square
Where it still stands today

And on the wall is a plaque
From the people of this town
'Be careful what you wish for '
'It may just come around.'
The End.

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