After the Rain

The rain has stopped now,

A welcome and sudden reprieve

From the blanket of summer’s swelter.

It vanished as quickly as it appeared,

Yet even as I venture out

I can still taste the stinging sweetness

Of wet droplets on hot asphalt.

The night sky is silent now,

Almost eerie, devoid of stars.

A velvet, blackish-gray slate –

The perfect backdrop to trees

That line the streets.

They’re different now, somehow

Once proud, now humbled,

Burdened from the recent downpour

Bent, certainly not broken.

Their branches, waterlogged,

Reach for me across the sidewalk

An awkward, loving embrace.

I slide sideways,

Avoiding their damp cuddles, smiling

As I continue my walk

After the rain.