The Things They Carried

What does Kiowa say when his rain dance doesn't work?

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From the text:

Or Kiowa teaching a rain dance to Rat Kiley and Dave Jensen, the three of them whooping and leaping around barefoot while a bunch of villagers looked on with a mixture of fascination and giggly horror. Afterward, Rat said, "So where's the rain?" and Kiowa said, "The earth is slow, but the buffalo is patient," and Rat thought about it and said, "Yeah, but where's the rain?"

Kiowa's comment alludes to the fact that rain will come.... eventually. It's more or less a concession that a rain dance is merely a ceremony.

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The Things They Carried