Day of summer rain

I walked in a wood
Lush with summer; dripping with rain.

The ceiling was a printed pattern
Of leafy fingers and palms,
Shining dull green in the dull gray light.
The wind shook wet mischief from the trees as we walked beneath their shade.

The song of a damp wind's breath,
The slap of leaves
And the rattle of rain
Was symphony enough for me.

I wanted to run with the rain against my face and to cartwheel
In the long wet grass,
But the adult in me said
It wasn't sensible.

But, playful still, I grabbed a narrow trunk of birch
To shake a shower from it's reservoir of rain
And run away before it landed.

The woodland paths were shining,
Filmed with a lovely skin of light.

It was a day of summer rain.
Even the ghosts of childhood
Grew green
and strong.

(c) A McN