New York City, June 8, 2015

★★★★★ A dark blur of rain swept across the river to the north. It went on and away, and the sun sent the shadows of duct vents nearly straight down the face of the new building’s superstructure. The cross street was humid and still, but the air was blowing along Broadway. The light showed the dull coat of dust and pollen on the matching tasteful deep-navy paint jobs of a BMW and a Mercedes parked one after the other. A subtle sparkle rose from the pillar of a Muni Meter. Some ways ahead, inside the Park, a vivid yellow carriage wheel turned. A bench had enough shade to read a phone screen by. The high haze looked as if it were straining toward greater solidity. Another horse clopped by, and some ticking Citi Bikes. A sparrow wallowed in the deep dust; the breeze flipped notebook pages. Later, in the warmth of the gathering evening, the children done with their dance recital ricocheted among the big concrete blocks outside the high school entrance.