Remembering Rain

She lived in a house on a hill in the city
She was inclined to be
Somewhat reclusive
Yet still those who knew her spoke generously
On Tuesday she'd walk up without fuss
To settle bills
Each time seemed to be
Breaking for cover as retuning with groceries
She'd hide in routine 

Within her home it is surprisingly airy
All things have their place
It is ordered and simple: mementos are hidden
They were once displayed
Celebrations of instants of reasons to smile
Foundations of faith
Put away now in shadows as deep as the sea was
When the storm front came
And took tomorrow away

And the rain ran in rivers of Olympian laughter
Past the three steps leading up from the street
I where the paint on the door
Was all flaking and faded 
And numbers hung loose as ripe fruit
Now the heat, oh, the heat of endless summer
Bathes her face in sepia haze
As she turns away
Remembering rain

(I remember your touch
Asking me if I could)

And if you knocked once or twice
You'd be sure she would answer
And invite you inside
She'd offer you tea in small cups of bone china
Which were unusually fine
And trade stories and histories of memorial reverence
She listens in kind
To kindle a hunger with diffident questions
Repeatedly, time after time

Of when the rain ran in rivers of Olympian laughter
Past the three steps leading up from the street
I where the paint on the door
Was all flaking and faded 
And numbers hung loose as ripe fruit
Now the heat, oh, the heat of endless summer
Bathes her face in sepia haze
As she turns away
Remembering rain 

(I miss the love in your eyes
And your fingers entwined
Gently in mine)

Leaning out of her window with precarious ease
She looks down on the bay
Each morning at twelve o'clock sharp, she appears
As though something may change
Maybe moved by the moon and celestial trance
As she watches the waves
Or perhaps more mundane is her reason for waiting
Remembering that day
She silently prays 

The rain ran in rivers of Olympian laughter
Past the three steps leading up from the street
I where the paint on the door
Was all flaking and faded
And numbers hung loose as ripe fruit
Now the heat, oh, the heat of endless summer
Bathes her face in sepia haze
As she turns away,

(The smell of your hair
Still lingers where)

Remembering rain

(Your voice still sounds near)

Remembering rain 

(Full of laughter and tears)