Billy's Rain

The poem

When I'm lying awake, listening to rain hammering on the roof, the phrase comes back to me, our code for 'Let's get out of here'. We were huddled in the back of a van with the lights, the videotape equipment and the man with the rain machine. 'Why can't we use the regular rain?' you asked, as rain hammered on the roof. 'That's God's rain', said someone. 'It doesn't show up on film. We need Billy's rain for this one'. When I find myself soaked to the skin, tired, or merely bored with God's rain, the phrase comes back to me. I'd say it now if I thought you were listening.