After the Rain

some days
getting up is enough.
feet on cold tiles,
kettle humming,
a clean shirt pulled over last night’s ache.

you don’t have to shine.
not today.
just breathe.
just be.

let the storm pass without explanation.
let the sky rinse itself clean.

there’s no deadline
for feeling okay,
only weather,
moving through.

and when it does,
when the clouds crack open
and a thread of light finds your skin,

stand in it.
face to the sky.

you made it through the rain.
that’s what matters.
that’s the kind of strength
the world forgets to clap for.
but I see it.

I’m clapping.

Ryan Stone