Two Words for Rain

My mother's language has two words for rain —one for the kind that asks permission,one for the kind that doesn't.

I have only the one word in this language,so I have to say soft rain, hard rain,heavy rain, like I am translatingsomething that was never meant to need it.

I think this is what faith is too:one word doing the work of several,until you meet someone who grew upwith the finer version and realizehow much you have been flatteningjust to be understood.