Caught in a Rainstorm

The trees are heavy today, their branches arching down, dripping from the overnight rain. At first, I thought they looked sad with their leaves hanging like upside down cups to let the raindrops roll off. But then I realized that they didn’t look sad, but instead gluttonous, full and tired from the seemingly endless days of precipitation.  Standing in the gray gloom of spitting rain I studied the cherry tree, a mid-sized specimen in my back yard. She’s a round girl, usually voluptuous and flamboyant with her spring dress, but today she looks haggard.  Like outdated clothing, old pink flowers still cling here and there, stuck on with the wetness, and her long branches nearly touch the ground from the weight of the rain on her big leaves.  She is a beautiful woman caught in a rainstorm without an umbrella.  The sight of her makes me want to pull out my hair dryer to dry her leaves, pluck the dead flowers from her boughs, and help restore her beauty.