AS THE RAIN FALLS

I curse as the cold water glides down my back

It maneuvered through the terrain of my thick leather jacket to find my skin

As I watch the dog walk from left to right feeling my hair grow wetter by the second

I curse

I feel miserable

Until a homeless woman slowly walks on by

She tells me my dog is beautiful

She pets her then continues down the road

She wears little more than a summer dress and a thin woolen jacket

Her bag thrown over shoulder

A black garbage bag

Her shoes as far as I could see are worn well

The holes I’m sure let in more water than I could imagine

As the rain falls I loosen my grip on my jacket

The freezing waters cascade down my back shivering me to the bone

As the rain falls I envision so many others covering themselves from the cold

Under a bridge as the rain sounds like thunder mixing with the roar of the traffic above

A silent alley with a niche tucked neatly in the corner where none can see

The rain doesn’t hit quite so hard there

The old man ignoring the wet pushes up his makeshift tent of old blankets and a drop cloth snagging the branches to keep it just right

The forgotten girl

Laying in the ditch

Her eyes filling with water

Like she were crying for her own passing

As this woman walked around the corner and from my sight a tear came

For one were tears come rarely

I felt ashamed at my minor inconvenience

The dog walked on ahead

As a I slowly walked back into my warm dry home

Back inside

Listening to the constant mantra

The hum from the roof like muffled drums

As the rain falls upon it