Raindrops pool in chipped ceramic

Raindrops pool in chipped ceramic,

catching stray light like slow fireflies.

Wood softens under my weight,

warped boards creak a quiet rhythm,

as sky spills gray over the neighborhood.

My friend’s door cracked, steam rising,

a promise of warmth somewhere inside.

I watch the drip drip, a metronome

for waiting, the smell of wet earth

and old paint scraping memory awake.

A moment held between thunder

and the next breath, unfinished.