What a gift it is when rain soaks the desert,
streaming into washes, roads,
and canyons, dripping from trees,
cactus, grasses, rooftops, and rocks.
Now sun filters down through the clouds,
warming us with fresh afternoon light,
its tones and textures shifting constantly
on the broad, soaring faces of mountains.
We walk and watch, catching sight of the whole
bright disc just as it sinks into layers of silvery blue,
while mist floats up from deep folds of darkening cliffs
like soft white puffs of breath.