After the Rain

I walk down the street

Past branches now laden

With fat green leaves

And glistening droplets.

This backdrop of spring

Is soft gray and slate

With emerald grass lawns

And lilacs in bloom.

Along the street I find small puddles

Clear at the top but thick blood brown

At the bottom

It looks like serum

Separated in a centrifuge

With platelets and red blood cells

And plasma

Is this the blood of springtime

Enriching the soil,

Causing all these trees to grow?

I like to think it is, so…

Drink up trees, ‘cause summer’s comin’

And I need some shade!

~Kathie Adams Brown (May 23, 2011)