Caught, by Mike Baynham

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake, by Hiroshige (Japan) 1857.

Caught

Caught
in the
fierce
-ness
of grief
caught
in its
storm
like
Hiroshige's
country
folk
surprised
by rain

that
drenches
you
as you
hurry
to cross
the bridge
one dark
November
night

Heading
for the
shelter
of home

And
the storm
doesn't
pass
you stay
drenched
for years
and
you have
no coat

no coat
could
protect
you
from
this
​
Mike Baynham

Mike Baynham is a semi retired linguist, based in Leeds UK,  who writes, performs and translates poetry from a number of languages, chiefly Spanish, but also French and Arabic. He learnt the meaning of "ekphrastic," a new word for him,  when his son was studying for an English degree, though truly came to understand it through reading Frank O'Hara's "Why I Am Not a Painter."