A Beaded Curtain

After swimming Monday evening, I went downtown 

to catch the bus home. It was raining a cold mist 

as I waited the few minutes before it arrived.

I sat on a bench at the Federal court building to watch

the traffic and take in all the colored lights.

Many of the buildings have colored lights as a part of 

their decorative features, accenting their ridges and eaves.

Some change with the season; one building, whose lights are 

usually blue, showed an eerie orange glow for Halloween.

Traffic and street lights cast their luminous sheen

onto the damp pavement and, as the bus prepared to pull

away from the curb, the rivulets of rain took on

the colors of red beaded curtains, the wipers pulling the strands 

aside to reveal the colorful scene just beyond.