Outside in the dark the rain
taps my forehead and
cheeks for my attention.
It’s colder
than I remember.
Water rolls down bricks
a moving screen with
a still, bright, stellar image
flickering. It seemed so much deeper
as a child, walking in gutters,
the warmth of water
and silt between my toes.
When the wind had passed
and the hail let up,
a freshly bathed world was ours.
Tonight I scurry from shelter
to shelter, chilled
from a moment exposed.
Covered
head to toe,
impermeable.