After the rain

Tree leaves shoot spitballs in my eye and laugh
jostling like middle-school boys
punching each other with scrawny arms

Each fist a valentine kiss
a baptismal sting

Do I see differently now?

that clouds have cleared
and raindrops pool at my feet
bleeding soil

reflecting the naked rainbow
that streaks through the yard
with a twinkle in his eye

What delight there is in the slow recovery.

of holy waterfalls from heaven
that cleanse
and merge
the imperceptible divide

What was only seen through
a squint’s slit
opens wide
in the gentle safety
of steam
rising from the sidewalk

rising from the heat of the soul
lit again
by an interior flick of
the ethereal switch

The heart’s imperceptible desire
flung wide
as an Ohio sky
after the rain