the rain fell very straight all through the idle night to repeat
the right-angled rain fell on the paving and never ceased
the rain fell from the sky onto the street
made glistening by that water the sky had released

in the solitary night the rain didn’t stop falling down
the rain continued to pour its waters quite straight
into the sticky dreams of the man on the ground
who had stopped under the awning of a little shop open late

the very vertical rain fell without stopping
and the man under the awning stood like a hare
watching for ages that rain that was falling
on the glistening cobbles of the solitary street

the rain was beginning to go off
suddenly he ran out into it again
because he was tired of sheltering under that roof
he was bored with staying in the shelter from the rain