Rain
Lou Beach
Monsoon in Cassopolis, Michigan.
The horizon is smudged.
The cattle huddle,
sodden sentries by the gate.
It has come: the autumn deluge
following September’s implacable
drought. The pasture floods.
River turtles burrow in mud.
I conjure Hampstead, England,
the London suburb where Keats
began his dying: rented rooms,
foul with the stench of consumption,
sheets and bedclothes damp.
It rained there too, and the rain
blew through the once dry
prairie grasses that were his lungs.
About the Author
Lou is a published poet, fiction writer, critic, and translator of French, Spanish, and German poetry. A recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council’s Independent Artist Award, she is also an accomplished librettist whose song cycles have been performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Eastman School of Music, and The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Her book, Moonshine, a collection featuring a novella and twenty short stories, explores the theme of obsessive love. Notable works from this collection include "Pornography," short-listed for the Hammond House International Literary Prize and featured in the 2026 anthology Secrets; "Head Trip,” short-listed for The Letter Review Short Story Prize; and "Cloudspotting," slated for publication by Heart on Our Sleeves Press.
Lou holds a PhD in Romance Languages and Literature from Duke University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College. More information can be found at her website: elbbooks.com.