The mid-afternoon sky was cluttered with ripples of brush-stroked clouds that day,
But the sky was still light.
Splashes of bright blue broke up the cream and grey colored bodies of dirty air.
The relentless sun made her best effort to escape the shadows.
Beams of luminescence escaped small pockets in the puffy clouds that crowded the yellow ball.
She danced along the outside of their darkening hues – making them three dimensional against their fixed backdrop.
Bright white glowed along the edges of each one,
Hindering their intimidating discoloration.
In all their might,
The clouds tried keeping her hidden that day,
But she was far too tenacious to be averted.

The air was chilled.
Crisp.
As it usually was that time of the year
In the city.
The short-lived days of eighty degrees and sun-filled expanses had passed on,
Giving way to the cooler days of the impending season change.
There was no rain,
Although the clouds looked anxious to deliver.

Despite all the opposing elements,
There she was –
Spilling out beyond the clouds;
So that every eye could see her still
Among the grays that faced the earth’s surface.
She saw the brightness
On the back side of the clouds
That others could not yet see.
And the sun, she shined on.

-2006