28 Running in the Rain, High Tide Rain slanting past and no place here to run. In the cold deepening dusk there comes the roar Of water much too near; as the car door Caught by a gust swings wide, I see the brown Waves smack the cliffs. Well, head for the next beach down. Bulldozers have gouged it up and gullies pour With the runoff, crumbling, forcing me to detour Through garbage to the blacktop (it’s near town). I run in a dazzle of streetlights and car lights My glasses streaming, and splattering along Alone, think of the swaggering word invictus; And sprint back through the drench against a strong Headwind, wearing as the car comes into sight A combination grin and runner’s rictus. 57