There's something magical about the way
the ***** New York City streets look
when it's been raining and it's still cloudy.
Headlights shine on the pavement
and if you look up for a moment,
you can see the skyscrapers disappear into the clouds.
City streets look so dull in the sunlight.
Dust swirling in the air.
But just before dark, when it's rained
at 5 in the afternoon
the streets are shiny and little girls jump in the puddles
cars drive slow
and women are holding up umbrellas
still slick with water droplets

And when it's late November
Christmas lights shining everywhere
and mugs of hot cocoa warm throats and hands and stomachs
and music plays softly at the edge of your conscience
snow falls gently from the low hanging clouds
a snowflake lands on her wool coat and
she turns around and you both stop because
suddenly everything is
so much more beautiful than either of you expected.