raincoat: friction of rubber on rubber. it grips at itself, then lets go with a squeal. i squeeze through the gate & out into heavy weather, hooded & buttoned up. a bright yellow beacon among miles of tilled farmland -- sugar beets, corn & lavender all observable from this vantage. Somewhere to the east, a ray of sunshine slices it's path. i look for rainbows, none come. the wind & dark clouds swing low from the west. the path is a muddy rut. hedges on both sides, littered with slick roots & moss coverd stones. all the animals are hiding. what am i doing out here? water collects on my brows, my lashes and drips off the tip of my nose onto my lips. but my body stays mercifully dry.