Cold, freezing, stinging, sideways rain
catches me off guard

A grey, leadened sky; it falls;
wisps of raincloud; swirl twist,
mix. Somewhere thunder echoes through
empty, flooded streets, brazen and cold

A few children in a narrow alley;
half naked in dark puddles, among broken crates
and trash and a wet, decomposing smell. Smiles
at the cold water between their toes

and numb feet

Shrieks and cries at distorted pictures
in the muddy water. Freezing water splashed
in each others face, until they are blue, or
their mothers call for them;

they playfully run for cover

Thin layers of cloud, pulled back like velvet
curtains. Pulled back, revealing a brief sunlit
puddle. The children see it, face first to the
icy water, but the curtain drops,

a thud on the empty stage.