"What Does a Hummingbird Do When It Rains?" (poem) by Janet M. Ruth

I had always imagined
a hummingbird huddled
    beneath a broad leaf
        or a stout branch
cringing from soaking rain drops

    until today

during a calm steady 

    Navajo “female rain”
rufous hummingbird perches
ocotillo stalk tip
    bursts with tiny green leaves
        celebrating monsoon

he fans his tail
    blurs his wings but stays perched
dips his bill
    preens breast feathers
helicopters vertically
    a foot above the branch
returns
    repeats the exercise
raindrops glitter on fiery plumage

hummingbird takes a shower
    that’s what he does