In this week’s poem, by Dave Morrison, we find the nearly magical act of weariness with the rain being turned into affection for it. I love this poem’s simple but vivid details of coffee, cookies, and tree-lined streets; its conversational ease; and the quietly transformative revelation of its final lines.

Morrison’s poems have been published in literary magazines and anthologies, and featured in The Writer’s Almanac, Take Heart, and Poems from Here. Morrison has published 17 books of poetry; “Another Good Day Begins” (Soul Finger Press, 2022) is his most recent collection. He lives on the coast of Maine.

Old Friends

By Dave Morrison

We were feeling blue,
work-tired and done with
the rain, so we went to that
store with the good coffee and
cookies the size of a Viking
shield, and we drove down the
quiet straight roads, through the
tunnel of ancient trees and we
talked of familiar things and
we were lifted, just enough that
the rain and fog and fatigue were
not only acceptable, but old
friends, really, and we were
filled with that sense that
familiar things and simple
pleasures would continue
to save us.

Megan Grumbling is a poet and writer who lives in Portland. Deep Water: Maine Poems is produced in collaboration with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. “Old Friends,” copyright 2024 by Dave Morrison, is reprinted from “We Are Here and It Is Now” (Soul Finger Press, 2024). It appears by permission of the author.