Water In the Gutter

It is two o’clock and the sun is shining. Its rays are shimmering on the ground. The rain had come with perfect timing. School is out, and boys fooling around. The rays are reflected from high above and the rain has fallen at the usual time. Why does it happen always at lunch? And yet again for afternoon tea? Those were the days on the high veldt when summer days were predictable. School is out and shoes are off some are paddling in the gutter. The water is warm, but not from the sky. Warmed by the road that was steaming hot, after a brief shower it then becomes dry. The warm water flows only one way, until it finds the grate of the drain. With a gurgle, a swish and a sway, it will be in darkness until it emerges again. Now as a stream it will see the sun. It’s hard to imagine that some of the drops will find their way to the mighty ocean and start all over again.