[Calliope]: 216.Contests.If I were

If I Were…A Raindrop

  I fall. I plummet to the earth at unimaginable speeds yet the trip seems to last lifetimes. I must say that the view from the top is splendid. Phenomenal scenery no matter what location I may be released at. While I enjoy living in the clouds, comforted by their pillow like softness and surrounded by similar beings, nothing is comparable to the free fall of raining.
  After my life quenching dance with gravity I can find myself in any number of places. I have seen dozens of different places and know that I will see dozens more in the future. One of my favourite landing sites has to be rivers and steams. To be swept up in a fast paced current is a perfect ending to my sky dive. I hurtle past and into boulders as I brush water life forms and try to take in as much about them as I can. I notice salmon and trout meandering about in the cool pools and water spiders skittering about on the surface and wonder, what would it be like to be one of them and not be forced ever step of your life? Something I wish yet something I would never give up my current existence in replacement for, there are too many things I have yet to see.
  The rivers and streams lead me into ponds and lakes where I have more freedom to cruise around and view other objects. It’s fascinating to be able to watch things for longer periods of time. My mind was completely blown away the first time I was taken from a lake into yet another river and sent careening into the ocean. Who’d have ever imagined! The density of the rest of my fellows caused a bit of a brackish at first but we soon adjusted to the new feeling of salt and I must say, the magnificence of it all made the adjustments quite worthwhile. The things to see in such a place! 
  The seaweed and seacreatures are all things out of the mouths of others, not that you have seen. Dolphins and crabs, sharks and flounders and oh! the sting rays! Water spiders were entertaining in their own right but to say they compared to such great beings would be an understatement. Then, to top it all off, there is the added bonus of the time spent in oceans. The larger the body of water you are in, the slimmer the chance of you being chosen to ascend to the clouds once again. The few times I have found myself in the ocean, I have stayed for years on end, gently winding my way in and out of the foliage forests that coat the bottom and weaving my way through the currents caused by schools of fish. Still, while it is hard to become bored in such a system, I began to feel weary and ready for change. Lucky for me I was called back to the heavens and my cushions.
  Needless to say the ride up is a tad less exhilarating than the trip down but it is a serene time which we all begin to crave at some point. Before we know it, we’re back up in our clouds, viewing the world from different angles and awaiting the time when our shelters feel the soil needs us. At times the ground gets angry because of its lack of water and thrusts up at the clouds causing them to release us. This angers our hosts and they begin to rumble their displeasure and to strike at the ground. Still, many of us find our trip is once again starting.
  I take pleasure in knowing I am a member of the elements. I have a natural power that was granted to me at creation but that isn’t to say I’m not at a disadvantage to some. Earth needs me too survive for without water, she is just dust blowing in the wind. Meanwhile wind is a component of the one element I can’t deny, air. Air holds me in its grip, able to summon me to the clouds sooner than would be expected, wind only hastens this trip. The fourth element, fire, while fearsome to others, cowers when I appear. It’s true that earth is able to extinguish fire in large doses but wind only feeds its muscle. It is up to me and my elemental cohorts to bring this raging monster to its sparks.
  All in all I’m proud to be made of water and ecstatic that I get to be a rain drop. I get all sorts of rhymes in my name. “It’s raining, It’s pouring” and “April Showers” are just a couple of the many. I get to experience freedom that some of the other elements aren’t granted and I also have the knowledge that I am essential, just like the other elements and that gives me an immense feeling of satisfaction. I can make many people feel rejuvenated when I fall as well. Who knows, maybe you’ll be around the next time I descend and you’ll feel that way too. Until then.

© Angie O'Connor