Running in Rain

After swimming year-round three years,
One or two practices a day,
Until the chlorine smell never fully left my skin, my hair,
I had had enough of being wet.

One time, though, I purposefully went for a run
In the rain
In the dark
Around my college campus.

The sidewalks glistened with reflected light,
And the beautiful pink limestone buildings
Struck me even then as collegiate cliché in their perfection.

But rain falls rarely enough in Colorado,
And as I ran alone, the night felt vaguely menacing
Even in the rain,

So I never had even a slight inclination to repeat
The magic of that moment.

As if it would have been possible anyway.