nature interruptus

wind
slants the rain;
spreads
its rainbreath,

trees glisten
catching the rain's fall;
diffusing their sweat
of ages as well,

chimneys perfume the air
as antidotes
to teeming lead

roofs, like face down
books, block any
knowledge of rain
from sinking in,

sidewalks shore up
inconvenienced gentry
battling incompetent
umbrellas billowing
up like Marilyn's skirt,

tires bite
hiss and drool
on the wet sheets of tar,

streets blow
their steam
from accumulated heat. . .

when rain
bleeds the makeshift colors
cast on the city and chokes
the organized
industry of life,

the bygone romance--
life's harmony
with nature--looms
palpable