Rainbows in the Gutter

Spinning rainbows in the gutter

like some drug crazed spider

an epitome for a rainy day

when the muck film rises from the streets like gray magic

an oil slick

wearing the street grime like rain gear

"calls it a slicker do they?"

I remember when it used to rain here

and the smell of damp earth would pierce my skin

and like that lady in that song said: "Wake me up in inside"

and I would awaken to the wonder of rainbows blossoming in the gutter

and the smell of wet garbage

and the tragedy and wonder of youth is:

it was all very wonderful the first time

until you began to wonder why someone doesn't clean this up

someone else, of course. coarse?

But maybe sooner or later we will live in a Brave New World

when the frenetic energy of our various scurryings across the face of the earth

are translated by tiny invisible wires or tiny invisible microbes

into rainbows of light to warm us and light the way.

by Michael A. Skinner