Clouds at Sunrise

The sky's still dark when I step onto the damp pavement,
my neighbor's discolored tan boots on the edge of the sidewalk
provide the first hint of unseasonal rain in the early hours.
As time slips passed, the environment lightens, brightens,
but the ether remains heavy like blackberry preserves
until the sky begins to fade through the gradient of blues
over my head, but the horizon remains heavy and black.