Summer Droplets

The road after the rain stopped
was still a little damp,
and my rain boots
made a gentle splashing sound.

The summer air
was warm,
yet just a little bit cool,
clinging softly to my cheeks.

On the surface of a puddle,
droplets of light shimmered,
and they
looked just like someone's laughter.

I
touched a droplet on a leaf with my finger,
and though it was cold,
it felt warm somewhere deep inside,
making my heart bloom open.

Long ago,
a soft hand
once stroked my hair.
I cannot remember the name,
but that warmth
like a droplet,
still falls here even now.

The sound of cicadas
echoed faintly in the distance,
and when a single summer breeze
brushed against my cheek,
I looked up at the sky.

A thin light
stretched from one end of the sky to the other,
hanging there softly.

That light,
though it said nothing,
gently unraveled
the small ache
deep in my heart,
like a droplet.

Even if the things that matter
can no longer be seen,
they are still
living warmly within me.

When I thought that,
my heart
began to bloom with a glow.

I
breathed softly
toward that light.

When I reached out my finger
to the water surface rippling at the tips of my rain boots,
a single summer droplet
danced with a sparkle
in the palm of my hand.