I Wish I Could Say

I wish I could say that
That night when it poured rain
So deliberately
That the drops seemed beads of syrup--
Slow, ponderous, purposefully drizzled from spoons poised high in the clouds--
We went for a walk anyway,
Disregarding the raincoats by the door,
Leaving behind the umbrella standing in the corner.
I wish we had chased each other, laughing,
Slipping crazily on the slickened lawn
And had sloshed through the puddles, which smelled of worms and cut grass,
With the pavement around us
Steaming with the contrast of cool rainwater
And the accumulated heat of the day,
Shining new pennies beneath the street lamp.

Instead we stayed in,
Ordered Chinese, watched a movie,
As I left, you uttered the most empathetic phrase
You'd said all night:
"Take an umbrella with you.
It's raining."

--Elizabeth Walters

(This is a work-in-progress)

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