Invisibly

In the beam of passing headlights,
the footpath glistens:
it rained, invisibly, before we came.

Stopped

The bus has stopped and isn't starting: a change in the engine's thrumming and in the thrum of voices, which falters and assumes a plaintive, questioning note.

Restless

Night wind's
restless ache
cries at the window.

Skirt

A pale, skinny girl in a battered leather jacket and...
oh, a brightly striped and wildly swooping and dipping flamenco skirt - for a moment, everything dances.

Suddenly

Greasy grey paving stones suddenly cheerful:
fallen red berries line the cracks.

Caught

Brittle oak leaf caught behind a windscreen wiper:
its pale, crisp serrations, shadowed on the glass,
stand out against the soft, reflected street-scene.

Slip

Cold cloud hides the hot sun.
Boiled blood slips and shivers:
what cooks call a reduction.