Driving through the prairies,

a heavy raincloud follows

the car along the highway,

as if attached by magnetism,

not unlike poor Eeyore.

Pelting off the front windshield,

the side windows are calmer,

raindrops slowly drifting down

the glass, one or two

sometimes racing.

Beyond the pavement and

gravel shoulder, golden

stalks of wheat sway in the

wind, illuminated by bright

sunlight, a celebration.

I can only watch through

the rain strewn window

as tall ripe stalks

burst with grains and the

fulfillment of our farmers.

My only thought is to hope

that the rain stays along

the highway and does

not ruin such an

essential harvest.

Brydon Caldwell is a long time teacher and emerging writer from the western edge of the Canadian Shield. A lifetime of creativity and flirtation with the written word has finally coalesced into writing that he is proud to put out into the world. He was recently named the winner of the 2026 Icelandic Festival of Manitoba Short Story Contest. His writing can be found in Boudin, The Ekphrastic Review, New Verse News, and the upcoming Fear Dealer, Opolis 2026, Soul Cleanse, and Still From Somewhere anthologies. You can follow along on his publishing journey at Bluesky using brydonauthor.bsky.social