Rain pelts
down through
a gray chill sky:
the tiny bursts of each drop
crackle together
and hum, and drum.
On the sidewalk
worms are dying,
washed out strands of earth
trapped and drowned
on disaffected concrete.
A big one wriggles slowly,
moves its head in
something like confusion.
I pick it up and return
it to the grass,
glistening and
shuddering violently
under the wet barrage.
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