WALKING IN THE RAIN

WALKING IN THE RAIN

WALKING IN THE RAIN

I am going out
in the gentle summer rain, remnants of a storm
to feel the drenched cotton fabric
of this threadbare shirt cling on to me like a sheath
smell the parched earth suck in the season’s first rain
please come with me

We will paddle about cautiously though not to mash
too many snails into the grazing lands awash
Watch the muddy waters slide along the foot paths
where the scum of the earth hangs temporarily on the grass
to be phased out with time

Yesterday swelter
that cooked up this serving in cumulonimbi pots
has been extinguished, savour the coolness
as I indulge myself in the sweet brutality
of the pure rain-breaking a taboo
sogging my dreadlocks in a wash that’s true
through and through

but if a stray bolt of lightening strikes
and the ensuing thunder vibrates under my feet
I will stand petrified, vulnerable as a wounded calf
with a pounding heart, I will mouth an uncensored prayer
I need someone then to stand right by me
Would you feel safe if that someone was you?