After the rains...

...of yesterday, the air is cleaned and clear. From my office window, I can look across the river and see the tombstones of Arlington, beneath trees of darkening fall colors. I can see them more clearly than usual. They seem huddled together, like male penguins protection each other form an Antartic cold. I believe that I can see near the top of a hill, the rooftop of the tomb of the unkown soldier. How I dreamed of being a soldier when I was young. Now, I dream of the company of soldiers in the next life and wonder what they will have to say -- what they think of us as they watch us, now. I find myself wanting to visit them in the early light of dawn, walk among those tombstones, feel the grass beneath my feet, and the cool breezes in my face, and to somehow, for a moment share my gratitude for even such common luxuries with them.