sudden shower
he covers my head
with his coat

hokku by Alida Duff

sudden shower
he covers my head
with his coat
unusual comfort
with a perfect stranger

cap by Jennifer Toney

I love reading this over and over in my mind because my imagination paints a picture that is so vivid for me. I visualize two strangers finding each other in the rain and in the atmosphere that the storm creates for them. The rain is their background music in a way and the darkness only makes for a more romantic setting. Because the rain has drenched their clothes and hair they see each other for what they really are. What makes it even better is that they love what they see and they love the feeling they have at that very moment. —Casey T

I especially like this cap because it links to the original verse by content, but it is still very dramatic, and points out an interesting part of human nature. It is just so nice when a complete stranger will give you a hand with something, or help you out without any expectations of something in return. This happened to me the other day at the Decatur Public Library. My friend and I were unloading artwork from her car, to put into the gallery upstairs, and some big biker dude helped us carry all of the pictures in from the car. That’s the beauty of human nature, for the most part people are complete jerks, but once in a while there is an instance when a little act of kindness or generosity can help you put some faith back into the creature known as a human being. —Casey W