Afternoon Rain
Afternoon rain weighs down
The heavy heads of sunflowers
And surprises walkers
In the park—clothes cling
Like wet children
And I think of the autumn day
I last saw your face
Thirty-five years ago on campus
Slender in your green dress
Hands like two quivering birds
On the curve of my spine
That morning we kissed.
Later when you drove away
In your dad’s car
Afternoon rain raked down
The last maple leaves in clusters—
I walked back to my room
Through shallow red streams.