Cloudy Sky Spring.

Last night was the first true true thunderstorm of the season. I felt lucky to be outside right before it started. Even in this concrete city, the air still foreshadows what is to come, in this case, right off of the tall trees of Riverside. Then as I emerged from the subway, the scaffolding that surrounds nearly every building downtown these days wasn't its usual oppressive self. It offered me an amazing view without getting literally soaked (though perhaps I was metaphorically so). Amanda and I took up that offer and breathed in the spring rain.

Today has the same kind of feel, except without the rain, though its promise still lingers. The cherry tree outside my classroom window is bursting with pink blooms that seem more colorful against the cloudy sky. The wind is shaking the bradford pear blooms down--causing the white petals to dance in the air for a while. Sigh.

I love the days that make you look for the secret things.

And this poem just seems to be the great thing ever to me today. Maybe read it while listening to "Comptine D'Un Autre Ete" by Yann Tierson from the Amelie soundtrack.

Like You by Roque Dalton (translated from Spanish by Jack Hirschman)

Like you I
love love, life, the sweet smell
of things, the sky-blue
landscape of January days.

And my blood boils up
and I laugh through eyes
that have known the buds of tears.

And that my veins don't end in me
but in the unanimous blood
of those who struggle for life,
love,
little things,
landscape and bread,
the poetry of everyone.