After the Newtown, Connecticut, Shooting
After Several Days of Rain
Crisp December, just before noon
Billowy white clouds defy gravity
As wet red maple leaves whip windows and each other.
A man with little red riding hood on his back
Smiles at me, his George Clooney
face mouths a small ‘thank you’
As I stop the car so he can cross with his little piggy.
Balloons in a bouquet swirl in front of my children’s school, red and white,
One escapes and taunts the tree we call the Whomping Willow.
Root for the bulbous white balloon, and joy.
