Walking in the Wet

The streets glisten

Rough-hewn iron

In the rain

No cars

No pets

Only cringing spiders

Webbed in sparkles

Under tree limbs

I watch them

And walk around them

Cautiously

Unwilling to feel the thread

Or their unwelcome legs

Unwilling to harm

Their world

My feet are only noise

Beneath me

My sweat no more a scent

Than newly fallen rain

And we are one

The night and me

Wet, glistening, new

We smile to each other

Knowingly

In parting

As dawn breaks.

The Rain

Rain drips along the house, calling

I sit in the dark, trying to ignore

The softened reminder

Of the world outside

Papers clog my brain

Students' hopes

Future grades

Present scores

And the rain drips on, singing like a child

I turn back to the world of dry

Arid thoughts

Analyzing red pens

Instructions, advice

And the rain murmurs to me from the darkness

Inside is dry and safe

And warm

A world of known, of comfort, blankets

Safe and soft

Yet I long to step outside

Into the deep of morning

For the cold splash of rain

To wake me from this sleep.