Arms stretch upwards in a bid to form a shield
Legs pick up pace in search of saving shelters
Shutters clap close to create a dam
Joyful screams echo from the lips of wet toddlers

The rain is here
Her voice is the perfect harmony of baritone thunder and crackling strikes
From the safety of my bedroom where I sit
I stare down with exciting indifference

I see the buns seller expertly let down her tarpaulin sheet
I watch as the unified clusters of passersby 
throng close under the safety of the street shop’s canopy
Then there’s Jerry the traffic warden
Clad in his bright orange raincoat 
arms swinging in directive gestures
feet sturdy in defiance of the intrusive deluge

Tap! Tap! Tap!
Goes the rhythmic knock of rain against my windowpane
It seems she’s composing a luring lullaby for me
As I stare past the scuffling ants 
burdened with their load of daily bread
My eyelids take their bow
and usher me into a blissful sleep.