Hoosier Rains
by Michael Doyle

It has been over twenty years now
And it's on my mind still somehow.
I was driving, approaching the state line
Of Indiana, determined to make it mine.

Shortly before the sight of the dunes, I had planned
To visit like some sort of swimmer of the sand.
As my eyes had just eyed Lake Michigan's shore,
Those cold, piercing Hoosier rains began to pour.

Small but important, its notable location
Set the state central in this nation.
The Hoosier rains gave me pause for procrastination.
It would be another day to reach that destination.

Onward I drove down through the Hoosier rains,
Grateful to be in a SUV and not be holding reins.
I hadn't known that it would rain for nearly 60 days,
Or that it would ease up into Indiana's sunny rays.

In that time, I learned of Hoosier hospitality.
It's not just a rumor but a deep-seated reality.
The milk of kindness is nurturing for the soul, 
And maybe it is needed with nature out of control.

The Hoosier rains obscure these native skies,
Sometimes painted with a rainbow for our eyes
To realize the beauty that there is to be found
From the heavens above to the planted ground.

The most remarkable thing about flatness is it's not.
Reputations can be false when the reality is forgot.
Having traveled between the Hoosier rains to every part,
I have learned Indiana's hills and crags by my heart.

There is so much structure shaped by near silence,
Chiseled out of the landscape by glacial violence,
Are the lands once known as the West and Indian country.
And after the Hoosier rains pass, there is tranquility.

Time's passages teach a bit of humility and true grace,
And from them there is much to be learned about this place.
Without the Hoosier rains and turmoils of strife,
Little would grow that brings the good of our life. 

(c) August 11, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved